Ramaswamy, Noem top CPAC straw poll as favorites for Trump VP

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump should tap Kristi Noem or Vivek Ramaswamy as his running mate ahead of a likely November rematch with President Joe Biden, according to attendees of the Conservative Political Action Conference.

Noem, the South Dakota governor, and Ramaswamy, an Ohio businessman who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination, tied with 15% support among CPAC attendees at the conference outside of Washington when asked in a straw poll who Trump should pick as his vice presidential candidate.

Former Democratic U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii was third at 9%, followed by U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York at 8% each among a list of 17 potential candidates listed on the ballot.

The straw poll results were announced after Trump spoke to an enthusiastic crowd, focusing on a general election rematch with Biden even as South Carolina Republicans cast ballots in a primary contest between the ex-president and Nikki Haley.

Trump had 94% support from the 1,478 CPAC attendees who participated, compared with 5% for Haley. The former president had a 96% approval of the job he did in office.

Several of the potential Trump running mates included on the straw poll ballot spoke at this year’s conference in what was seen as an audition for the role, including Noem, Ramaswamy, Stefanik and Gabbard.

When asked in a Feb. 20 Fox News town hall what he’s looking for in his pick, Trump said, “The first quality has to be somebody that you think will be a good president because if something should happen, you have to have somebody that’s going to be a great president.”

“You would like to get somebody that could help you from the voter standpoint,” he added.

Last year, Trump was the choice of 62% of the 2,028 CPAC attendees who participated in the straw poll, compared with 20% for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, 5% for Michigan businessman Perry Johnson, 3% for Haley and everyone else at 1% or less.