Former President Donald Trump claimed the straw poll at the Western Conservative Summit on Saturday barely 24-hours after his federal indictment was publicly unsealed.
He surged past Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, his nearest challenger for the GOP 2024 presidential nomination, by 40.3 percent to 35.8 percent, the Washington Examiner reports.
Next closest candidates were Larry Elder, at 7.7 percent and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., at 5.8 percent, leading Jeff Hunt, co-chair of the summit to observe a “two-horse race” is fast developing for the nomination.
“The results are clear — Western grassroots conservatives want a fighter who will take on the radical Left and the institutions that are destroying America’s founding principles,” Hunt said.