As current and potential 2024 presidential candidates flock to Maryland's National Harbor to address activists at the conference, over a half-dozen prospective contenders are instead choosing to keep their distance.
-- reflect broader debates over the identity of the GOP as the next presidential primary takes shape.
Trump, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, all of whom are either running or have said they are mulling a 2024 bid, are slated to speak at CPAC. Current lawmakers on the schedule include firebrand Reps. Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert. Former lawmakers include some of those outside the U.S., like former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
"Ten years ago, [CPAC] was an opportunity to test your messages to conservative leaders and influencers all over the country and to have a big audience get to know you from the podium. And I don't think that's where it is today," said one aide to a possible 2024 candidate. "Last time I was there, it almost felt more like a college crowd than it did a serious thinker crowd.
But given that, the benefits of attending, even for those eyeing a presidential campaign and activist support, could be diminished, the strategists said.
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