Ben Carson, Sen. Ted Cruz and Sarah Palin were the top picks of 666 voters in the Western Conservative Summit straw poll for president in 2016.
All three were speakers at the three-day event that concluded Sunday at Denver’s Hyatt Regency hotel. Carson, a columnist and retired neurosurgeon, received 22 percent of the vote, Cruz had 13 percent and Palin 12 percent.
The ballot included two dozen Republicans. The rest of the top 10, in order of finish, were Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, former Sen. Rick Santorum, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Sen. Rand Paul, former New York Lt. Gov. Betsy McCaughey, former Rep. Allen West and Rep. Paul Ryan.
Rep. Michele Bachmann, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie were among others on the ballot.
Votes were accepted in person, via text and online. The fifth annual event drew a crowd of 3,300, said John Andrews, director of the Centennial Institute, the conservative think tank at Colorado Christian University in Lakewood.
West was Sunday’s keynote speaker.
“America is at its best when we’re promoting the American dream,” West told a full house in the hotel’s Centennial Ballroom Sunday morning. “We don’t talk to people about what the American dream is. We don’t explain what the American dream is — the American dream of economic growth, of opportunity, of promise, the American dream that says no matter where you’re born, no matter where you come from, that it is here in these great United States of America that you will receive the ladder of success and achievement, and you can climb it to whatever heights you want.”
Rick Palacio, Colorado Democratic Party chairman, monitored the summit’s speeches.
“Not too long ago, Republicans were taken seriously for their policy ideas,” he said. “However, this weekend’s Conservative Summit is further proof that today’s GOP is no longer a big-tent party that is interested in real solutions for all Americans. Rather, they’ve become a circus sideshow featuring carnival barkers like Sarah Palin and Ted Cruz.”
Joey Bunch: 303-954-1174, jbunch@denverpost.com or twitter.com/joeybunch
Update: Monday, July 21, 2014: This story has been updated to correctly identify Paul Ryan. Paul Ryan is a congressman from Wisconsin.
