In a straw poll for the Republican presidential nomination, attendees at a major conference of conservatives over the weekend overwhelmingly chose former President Donald Trump.

The Trafalgar Group survey found that attendees of the Turning Point Action Conference held in West Palm Beach (Florida) chose Trump with 87.5%, the highest among Republican candidates, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was only at 4.3%.

DeSantis came in third, behind Perry Johnson, an entrepreneur who received 7.8% of the vote, despite this conference taking place in the state where the governor lives.

Half of the approximately 6,000 attendees took part in the poll. The half of attendees between 18-21 years old, and the other half of different ages.

Trump delivered a long speech on a variety of topics at the event that took place Saturday. DeSantis, meanwhile, did not attend the home-state event.

In a statement given to the Washington Examiner, Bryan Griffin, his campaign press secretary said:

DeSantis spoke at a packed Tennessee GOP Statesman Dinner that evening after spending the day with Iowans. It was just a few days after he gave the best interview at the Family Leadership Summit. Donald Trump, however, did not attend. Ron DeSantis wants to win.

Vivek RAMASWAMY was the second choice of half the respondents. He also spoke at this conference, and attendees flocked to him afterwards. Twenty-one per cent chose Trump as their second preference, while 13.5% selected DeSantis.

Charlie Kirk, CEO of Turning Point and founder of the Examiner, told The Examiner that:

The straw poll shows that Trump is still the most popular conservative among conservatives. The attacks on him seem to have made him more popular and stronger among conservatives.

Kirk said that attendees of the conference expressed disappointment to him that DeSantis had not attended.

It’s also obvious that Governor DeSantis deciding not to attend this event likely hurt his performance in this poll. Many people in this room have great respect for Governor DeSantis and his work in Florida. But I’ve been approached by many attendees who were disappointed that he hadn’t attended. This is evident from the poll results. Vivek gave a fantastic speech and was clearly the second favorite of our people.

Kirk called the attendees and the event the “pulse” of the grassroots.

At the event, two other Republican candidates — former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez — also spoke. Asa Hutchinson, and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez.

According to reports, former Vice President Mike Pence was invited, as were Sen. Tim Scott, R-SC, Nikki Haley (former Ambassador to the United Nations), and DeSantis.

In terms of vice presidents, 30 percent of respondents chose Kari Lake.

According to “sources involved with the conference”, there was “measurable” support at the conference for DeSantis. The source mentioned a large cardboard cutout with the face of the governor outside the main room, where some supporters posted positive messages and thoughts.

Trafalgar’s poll also revealed that over 95% of respondents opposed U.S. participation in the war in Ukraine. The southern border was deemed the “most pressing issue” for America. A majority said they were looking forward to the Republican National Committee primary debate that will take place in August.

According to the report, 66% of respondents said that they didn’t trust the RNC in getting voters to the polls by 2024. A huge 77% majority also said they don’t plan to donate to RNC. Nearly 90% of respondents favored early voting, vote banking and other methods.