 | This article needs to be updated.(July 2016) |
The Western Conservative Summit is an annual conference of influential U.S. conservatives, held in Denver, Colorado, since 2010. It is organized by the Centennial Institute and Colorado Christian University. It has grown each year, and now includes a Young Conservatives Leadership Conference, which is led by radio host Hugh Hewitt.
In 2011, Herman Cain was the winner of the presidential nomination straw poll. [1] Syndicated columnist and talk show host Dennis Prager was among the speakers. [2]
In 2012, speakers included Glenn Beck and Arizona Governor Jan Brewer. Over 1,500 people attended. [3]
The 2013 Western Conservative Summit was themed "Freedom's New Day", [4] and took place July 26–28. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker was the keynote speaker, calling for optimism within the Republican Party and increased activity in reaching voters.
Also among the speakers were Mia Love, mayor of Saratoga Springs, Utah; former U.S. Senator Bill Armstrong, president of Colorado Christian University; Texas Senator Ted Cruz; former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee; Jonah Goldberg, a conservative columnist and author; and former Florida Representative Allen West. [5] About 2,000 people attended the four-day summit. [6]
Cruz won a straw poll for the Republican presidential nominee, with 225 votes (45% of votes cast). [7] [8] Cruz' speech included a call to "abolish" the Internal Revenue Service, and urged attendees to explain the Republican Party's message more clearly in the future. [9]
The 2014 Western Conservative summit was themed "America at its Best" and took place in Denver Colorado July 18–20. The 666 voters at the conference favored Ben Carson (22%), Ted Cruz (13%) and Sarah Palin (12%) in a straw poll for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. [10]
The theme of the 2015 Western Conservative Summit is "Your Story: Freedom Alive". The summit drew criticism when it barred the participation of the Colorado Log Cabin Republicans, a Republican organization that advocates for equal rights for gays and lesbians. Centennial Institute head John Andrews explained that their "worldview and policy agenda are fundamentally at odds with what Colorado Christian University stands for" and that the summit additionally has a policy of not allowing vendors who advocate for higher taxes or about climate change. [11] [12]
In 2021, the summit began using the approval voting method for their polls. Ron DeSantis won with 74% approval, followed by Donald Trump with 71%, Ted Cruz with 43%, Mike Pompeo with 39%, and Tim Scott with 36%. [13]
Ron DeSantis won a second year in a row with 71.01%, followed by Trump with 67.68%, Cruz with 28.73%, and Ben Carson with 24.15%. [14]
DeSantis won the approval polling for a third year with 66.9%, followed by Trump with 63.4%, Larry Elder with 44.9%, Tim Scott with 35.3%, and Vivek Ramaswamy with 24.2%. Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also received 14.4% approval, while Joe Biden received less than 1%. Trump, however, won a first-past-the-post poll with 40.3%, followed by DeSantis with 35.8%, Elder with 7.7%, and Scott with 5.8%. 73% of those polled named election integrity and religious freedom as their top policy concerns, followed by education/parental rights at 72%, immigration/border security at 71%, and gun rights at 71%. [15]
The Conservative Political Action Conference is an annual political conference attended by conservative activists and elected officials from across the United States. CPAC is hosted by the American Conservative Union (ACU). The first CPAC took place in 1974.
Rafael Edward Cruz is an American politician, attorney, and political commentator serving as the junior United States senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 to 2008.
The Values Voter Summit is an annual political conference held in Washington, D.C. for American social conservative activists and elected officials from across the United States.
John Andrews is an American former Republican politician and conservative activist who served as a Colorado state senator from 1998 to 2005, and Senate President from 2003 to 2005.
The Southern Republican Leadership Conference (SRLC) is a political event held in the Southern United States before each presidential election. The event is attended by Republican Party activists, elected officials, and candidates for office. It has featured every major Republican presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan, and is best known for its presidential straw poll, which receives national media attention. In 2011, the event was dubbed the Republican Leadership Conference before restoring its original name for 2012.
Magellan Data and Mapping Strategies, now called Magellan Strategies, is a survey research, data mining and campaign consulting firm located in Louisville, Colorado. The company's clients include Republican Party candidates, conservative political organizations, non-profit organizations, trade associations, businesses and local governments. The firm was founded in November 2006. Using quantitative and qualitative survey research methods, the firm helps Republican candidates, conservative organizations, trade associations and governments better understand voter opinion. In addition to survey research, the company provides predictive voter modeling, voter data analysis and campaign consulting services. Magellan is a member of the Marketing Research Association, the American Association for Public Opinion Research, and the American Association of Political Consultants. Some of the firm's clients include the Republican National Committee and Americans for Prosperity.
This is a list of nationwide public opinion polls that were conducted relating to the Republican primaries for the 2016 United States presidential election. The persons named in the polls were either declared candidates, former candidates, or received media speculation about their possible candidacy. On May 4, 2016, Donald Trump became the sole contender and presumptive nominee.
Presidential primaries and caucuses of the Republican Party took place within all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories between February 1 and June 7, 2016. These elections selected the 2,472 delegates that were sent to the Republican National Convention. Businessman and reality television personality Donald Trump won the Republican nomination for president of the United States.
The 2016 presidential campaign of Rand Paul, the junior United States senator from Kentucky, was announced on April 7, 2015, at an event at the Galt House in Louisville, Kentucky. First elected to the U.S. Senate in the 2010 election, Paul's candidacy for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in 2016 had been widely speculated since early 2013.
The 2016 presidential campaign of Ben Carson, a pediatric neurosurgeon and bestselling author, was announced May 3, 2015, in an interview with a local television station in Cincinnati, Ohio. He formally announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential election at a rally in his hometown of Detroit on May 4, 2015. On March 4, 2016, Carson officially ended his campaign in a speech at CPAC. He endorsed Donald Trump on March 11. After Trump won the general election, he selected Carson to be his Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, with Carson announcing an additional administration role overseeing the repeal and replacement of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Twelve presidential debates and nine forums were held between the candidates for the Republican Party's nomination for president in the 2016 United States presidential election, starting on August 6, 2015.
The following is a list of notable straw polls for the 2016 Republican Party's presidential nomination.
The 2016 presidential campaign of Ted Cruz, the junior United States senator from Texas, was announced on March 23, 2015. He was a candidate for the Republican Party's 2016 presidential nomination and won the second-most state contests and delegates. Cruz themed his campaign around being an outsider and a strict conservative. In the crowded early field, he chose not to directly confront the leading candidate, Donald Trump, who was also viewed as an outsider candidate. His cordial and sympathetic tone towards Trump contrasted with the more critical approach of rivals such as Jeb Bush, John Kasich, Marco Rubio, and Rand Paul.
The 2016 United States presidential election in Colorado was held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016, as part of the 2016 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Colorado voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote, pitting the Republican Party's nominee, businessman Donald Trump, and running mate Indiana Governor Mike Pence against Democratic Party nominee, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and her running mate Virginia Senator Tim Kaine. Colorado has nine electoral votes in the Electoral College.
The 2016 Nevada Republican presidential caucuses took place on February 23 in the U.S. state of Nevada, marking the Republican Party's fourth nominating contest in their series of presidential primaries ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
The 2016 Wisconsin Republican presidential primary was held on April 5 in the U.S. state of Wisconsin as one of the Republican Party's primaries ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Texas senator Ted Cruz won the contest with 48%, ahead of nationwide frontrunner Donald Trump by 13 percentage points. Taking advantage of the state's two-level "winner takes all" provision, Cruz took 36 out of the 42 available delegates.
The 2016 New York Republican presidential primary was held on April 19 in the U.S. state of New York as one of the Republican Party's primaries ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
The 2016 Colorado Republican presidential caucuses took place in early April in the U.S. state of Colorado, as a part of the Republican Party's series of presidential primaries ahead of the 2016 presidential election. The Colorado contest consisted of a series of congressional district conventions on April 2, 7 and 8 and a state convention on April 9. A non-binding "beauty contest" caucus was held March 1 to coincide with the Super Tuesday conventions. Ted Cruz won a majority of delegates in the convention.
The Iowa State Fair Straw Poll is an informal poll for presidential and Iowa congressional candidates. The poll has been conducted by the Iowa Secretary of State with results posted to their website. It was begun in 2015 after the Republican Party of Iowa announced it would no longer hold its official Iowa Straw Poll given that a majority of presidential candidates declined to participate.
The 2021 Conservative Political Action Conference was the annual event of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), hosted by the American Conservative Union. It was held at the Hyatt Regency Orlando in Orlando, Florida, from February 25 to February 28, 2021. The event was headlined by former President Donald Trump, with many speakers and panels throughout the conference.