Attendees at this weekend’s Conservative Political Action Conference outside Washington, D.C., were completely split on who they want to see as Donald Trump’s vice presidential running mate.

The results of a straw poll were announced Saturday night after the gathering of right-wing participants were asked to choose among 17 contenders. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy (R) tied for first place — but could only garner 15 percent each. And third place went in a surprising direction — with 9 percent choosing former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (R-HI). Gabbard has been on a political odyssey of sorts over the past eight years, shifting her backing all the way from far-left democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (R-VT) to the far right with support for Donald Trump.

In her CPAC speech earlier in the week, Gabbard called Trump a “fighter.”

“His strength and resilience can only come from one place… his sincere love and concern for the future of our country,” Gabbard said.

Tying for fourth place were New York Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), both with 8 percent of the vote. And Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) got 7 percent.

Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake (R-AZ) checked in with 6 percent, and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) pulled down 5 percent.

CPAC also conducted a straw poll asking if Donald Trump or Nikki Haley (R-SC) should be the GOP presidential candidate, an exercise in futility since Trump has had a first-place foothold since the beginning of the race. The results? 94 to 5 in favor of Trump.

The former president handily beat Haley in Saturday’s South Carolina Republican primary with nearly 60 percent of the vote. Even still, Haley has vowed to stay in the race.

Watch the clip above via Forbes on YouTube.

 

The post CPAC Attendees Totally Split on Who Should Be Trump’s VP — But Tulsi Gabbard Makes the Top 3 of Summit’s Straw Poll first appeared on Mediaite.

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