The Florida state governor topped the poll with 74.12% of the vote, compared to Trump's 71.43%.
The summit, hosted by the Colorado Christian University's Centennial Institute, is considered one of the largest gatherings of political conservatives in the western US, according to Newsweek.
The poll utilized the approval voting method, which means voters can select multiple candidates each time, with the winner having the highest total of votes.
Trailing behind Trump at a distant third place was Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who took 42.86%, followed by former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo at 39.35% and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott at 35.58%.
Former vice president Mike Pence trailed behind even farther at just 10th place, at 25.6%.Western Conservative Summit 2021 non-partisan approval voting poll results: 1. Ron DeSantis - 74.12%2. Donald Trump - 71.43%3. Ted Cruz - 42.86%4. Mike Pompeo - 39.35%5. Tim Scott 35.58%30 candidates polled. Democrats & Republicans.Full results: https://t.co/2a7Z5gVVwU
— Centennial Institute (@CentennialCCU) June 20, 2021
Despite leaving the White House after his loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential elections, Trump has maintained a dominant figure within the Republican Party. He retains widespread support among right-wing voters, with some 30% even believing it is likely that he will be reinstated as president in 2022, according to a poll by The Hill, despite such a thing being completely impossible based on US law and the US Constitution.
But this is not the first time DeSantis has been shown to command such support among Republicans. At the 2024 straw poll conducted at the Conservative Political Action Conference (C-PAC) back in February, DeSantis came second only to Trump. In another poll for Republican presidential candidates without Trump, DeSantis won by a landslide, according to The New York Times.
Back in April, the Washington-based online betting market PredictIt actually had DeSantis as more likely than Trump to be the 2024 Republican nominee, with Trump having been a close second followed by Nikki Haley at a distant third, according to the MediaIte news site.
The Florida governor's support within the party come following many controversial decisions he made in recent months, with many conservatives praising his aversion to coronavirus restrictions and keeping his state as an "oasis of freedom," according to Politico.
Trump seems to have noticed DeSantis's rise in popularity, however, and has gone out of his way to praise him.
“He’s a friend of mine. I endorsed Ron, and after I endorsed him, he took off like a rocket ship. He’s done a great job as governor,” Trump told FOX Business Network in an April interview, adding that he would consider the Florida governor as a potential running mate in 2024, should he decide to run.
The support for DeSantis, a noted ally of Trump, also comes as many traditional leaders in the party, such as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, have found themselves on the outs with the former president, noting a lack of support following their condemnation of Trump in the wake of the January 6 Capitol insurrection.