Ariana Eunjung Cha, Washington Post
Posted: Sunday, March 1, 2015, 1:08 AM
Paul had been the prohibitive favorite heading into this year's balloting, which featured 17 candidates. More than 3,000 attendees voted, a 20 percent increase over 2014's turnout. Nearly half identified as between the ages of 18 and 25.
The conference draws many libertarian-leaning college students whose views and priorities differ from the Republican Party at large. But it is nonetheless seen as a barometer of certain GOP conservative activists' early leanings.
Respondents said economic issues, such as jobs and taxes, were most important to them in deciding whom to support as the Republican nominee for president in 2016.
Hundreds of Paul fans had streamed in from across the country for the three-day event in National Harbor, Md., but his percentage of the vote dropped, to 25.7 percent, from 31 percent in 2014.
Former Florida governor Jeb Bush had made a major effort to do well, sponsoring buses to ferry in supporters and paying entry fees for some who came - a push that brought him a fifth-place showing.
Walker, who drew a significant level of grass-roots excitement at the conference with a strong performance in his Friday address, drew 21.4 percent of the vote, a significant improvement on his fifth-place showing last year. Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas), who finished second to Paul in 2014, drew 11.5 percent of the vote, roughly the same as he had in 2014.
Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson came in fourth place.
New Jersey's Gov. Christie came in 10th place, with 2.8 percent of the vote.
A candidate's popularity at CPAC hasn't been a great predictor of success with the larger GOP electorate, as attendees tend to have a stronger libertarian bent than the Republican majority.
But prognostication isn't really the point of CPAC.
The event - which is sponsored by think tanks, conservative websites, and influential interest groups such as the National Rifle Association - is more about theater, a forum for budding presidential candidates to road-test ideas. And in that regard, this year's gathering did not disappoint.
Some of the excitement had to do with the fact that organizers changed the format. Rather than just deliver speeches, candidates were expected to take questions from the audience, a twist that helped some candidates but hurt others.
Walker made headlines for appearing to draw a parallel between his fight in 2011 against public-sector unions and the challenge the United States faces in combating the Islamic State, the militant group in Iraq and Syria that has taken responsibility for beheadings, burnings, and other savagery.
A spokeswoman for the governor later clarified that he "was in no way comparing any American citizen" to the militants. She continued, "What the governor was saying was when faced with adversity, he chose strength and leadership."
Bush, who has a wide support base in the Republican establishment but who is disliked by some conservatives because of his stances on immigration and Common Core education standards, stepped onto the stage to boos from the audience. But he managed to put in what many observers called a solid performance by touting his conservative record on issues such as affirmative action and taxes.
This article contains information from the Associated Press.
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