Campaign

Kari Lake wins CPAC vice president poll, topping DeSantis, Haley

Former Arizona GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake won a straw poll for the Republican vice presidential pick during the Conservative Action Political Conference (CPAC) this weekend.

Among a field of 28 candidates, Lake won the poll with 20 percent of the vote, beating former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. DeSantis received 14 percent of the vote, and Haley, who announced her bid for the White House last month, won 10 percent.

Lake, who was also a featured speaker at CPAC’s Ronald Reagan Dinner over the weekend, has refused to accept her loss in the governor’s race last November and is challenging the election results in court.

Her official campaign Twitter account responded to the CPAC straw poll results by suggesting she’d be unable to serve in the role.

“We’re flattered, but unfortunately our legal team says the Constitution won’t allow for her to serve as Governor and VP at the same time,” it said.


Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who has declared his campaign for the presidency, each received six percent of the vote. All of the other Republicans listed in the field, including Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) and former Vice President Mike Pence, did not receive more than five percent.

Former President Trump easily won the CPAC straw poll for the presidency with 62 percent of the vote, while DeSantis came in second-place with 20 percent of the vote.