CPAC Straw Poll, Slighting Haley, Will Ask About Trump’s Ideal Running Mate

Well on his way to the Republican nomination and eager to cast himself as inevitable, Donald J. Trump has repeatedly invited speculation about his running mate.

Now organizers for one of the most prominent gatherings of the conservative movement plan to follow suit.

The 2024 Conservative Political Action Conference, known as CPAC, which starts on Wednesday, will conclude on Saturday with a straw poll that will include a vice-presidential question for the first time in at least a decade, organizers say.

The question, which asks CPAC attendees to pick the best running mate for Mr. Trump, nods to where attention is soon likely to turn in the Republican primary race. But its inclusion and Trump-specific wording are also the latest sign of just how completely the former president now dominates the party and its conglomerate of allied groups.

The slate of options, with 17 potential contenders, reads like a V.I.P. list for the latest black-tie gala at Mar-a-Lago.

It includes some of the names most often floated, like Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, Representative Elise Stefanik of New York and Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, according to a version of the poll shared with The New York Times.

Slightly longer shots also make an appearance: Ben Carson, the 2016 presidential contender who served in Mr. Trump’s cabinet; Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News anchor; and Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.

The list features some unconventional choices, too, like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running for president as an independent, and former Representative Tulsi Gabbard, who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 before leaving the party and becoming an independent.

While Mr. Trump is the overwhelming favorite for the Republican nomination, he is, in fact, still facing a primary challenge from former Gov. Nikki Haley. The vice-presidential poll question doesn’t just ignore that detail, which might be bothersome for Trump allies; the list of his potential running mates includes Ms. Haley as an option. It also includes two vanquished challengers, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Vivek Ramaswamy.

The CPAC straw poll will also include the gathering’s traditional question about whom attendees would like to nominate for president, which Mr. Trump has won six consecutive times. With polls showing that Mr. Trump maintains a strong grip on the party’s conservative base, the question about his running mate is sure to draw far more attention.

The former president has discussed possible running mates with close advisers, who have examined which contenders he has the best chemistry with and provided political analysis about their positions on abortion.

Publicly, Mr. Trump has offered conflicting thoughts on his possible No. 2. Just before the Iowa caucuses last month, he said he already knew whom he would choose. He walked that back this month, saying he had not decided and that he would not announce his decision “for a while.” He has said his running mate should be someone “who is going to be a good president.”

Matt Schlapp, the chairman of the American Conservative Union, which hosts CPAC, said he had compiled the list along with his wife, Mercedes, a longtime Republican strategist, and others on the CPAC team.

Mr. Schlapp said that all of the hypothetical contenders had been invited to speak at the conference and that about half had accepted, including Kari Lake, a candidate for Senate in Arizona; Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota; Mr. Ramaswamy; and Ms. Stefanik.

“This is like our version of ‘The Apprentice,’” Mr. Schlapp said, referring to the reality television show that featured Mr. Trump for 14 seasons. “They’ll all get a chance to make remarks and give conservative activists a sense of what they’re about. And I’m sure Mr. Trump will be very interested to see the results of the straw poll.”

Mr. Trump has reveled in his long history of warm welcomes at CPAC and is likely to receive another next week. He is scheduled to address the conference on Saturday, the same day as the Republican presidential primary election in South Carolina.

CPAC, which held its first gathering in 1974 featuring Ronald Reagan, has evolved over the years and now attracts hundreds of pro-Trump activists and conservative media figures.

To appeal to that audience, the event next week includes a handful of speakers with close ties to the former president, including Kevin Hassett, a former Trump economic adviser; Stephen K. Bannon, the former Trump White House strategist and podcast host; and Lara Trump, Mr. Trump’s daughter-in-law, whom he has backed for a Republican National Committee leadership post.

Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan contributed reporting.