Ted Cruz wins CPAC straw poll

The voters at the Conservative Political Action Conference have spoken, with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) winning the CPAC straw poll.

CPAC says 2,659 attendees participated in the annual poll, and 40 percent chose Cruz as their first choice for president, followed by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) with 30 percent, Donald Trump with 15 percent, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich with 8 percent. When asked their second choice for president, 29 percent of participants went with Rubio, followed by 26 percent for Cruz, 18 percent for Kasich, and 9 percent for Trump. On the topic of potential vice presidents, Kasich and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley each came in with 12 percent of the vote, followed by former candidates Carly Fiorina with 11 percent and Kentucky Senator Rand Paul with 9 percent. In 2013, 2014, and 2015, Paul won the straw poll as the top presidential candidate choice.

The participants were classified as "classical Reagan conservative" (66 percent), "libertarian conservative" (28 percent), and "populist conservative" (6 percent). The most important issue overall was the economy (49 percent), followed by national security (26 percent), and "restoring honesty and integrity to government" (13 percent). The poll also found that 72 percent of respondents do not think Republicans in Washington are "fighting hard enough for conservative principles and are too willing to compromise with President Obama."

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