Kristi Noem and Vivek Ramaswamy tie as top pick to be Trump’s VP in CPAC poll

Former President Donald Trump is well on his way to easily locking up the GOP presidential nomination for the third straight time, but attendees at the Conservative Political Action Conference were split over who should join his ticket.

Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem tied as the top pick among CPAC goers in the veepstakes with 15% apiece, according to a straw poll at the grassroots event.

Former Hawaii Democrat Rep. Tulsi Gabbard came next with 9% support, followed by Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) and House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) at 8% each.

Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) scored 7%, Arizona Senate hopeful Kari Lake notched 6%, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson each nabbed 5%.

DeSantis has ruled out serving as Trump’s VP.

Other names such as former Fox News host Tucker Carolina, former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), and environmental lawyer Robert Kennedy Jr. were under 5%.

CPAC was widely seen as a veepstakes contest of sorts for a handful of big-name Republicans who are believed to be jockeying for the VP perch.

Unsurprisingly, Trump won the CPAC straw poll for the presidency by a yawning 94% to Haley’s 5%.

Trump, who won South Carolina’s primary by over 20 percentage points Saturday evening, is the run-away favorite to clinch the party nomination.

Last week during a Fox News town hall with Laura Ingraham, he confirmed that six contenders she name-dropped were on his shortlist: DeSantis, Ramaswamy, Scott, Donalds, Noem, and Gabbard,

“Honestly, all of those people are good. They’re all good, they’re all solid,” he said.

CPAC, which was held in the Gaylord National Harbor Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, wrapped up Saturday.

Trump has long dominated the feted conservative event, which attracts international conservative figures such as Argentina’s Libertarian President Javier Millei.

Once a staple of the conservative movement, CPAC has suffered from dwindled attendance and various scandals in recent years.

The next Republican presidential nominating contest is set to take place in Michigan on Feb. 27. Trump’s team anticipates he will lock down the needed 1,215 delegates sometime next month.