This week, the American Conservative Union will be hosting their 42nd annual Conservative Political Action conference at the Gaylord National Hotel and Resort located 15 minutes from the Washington, D.C. beltway. This annual conference began in 1973, founded by well-known conservative groups such as the American Conservative Union and Young Americans for Freedom. CPAC is currently the largest grassroots gathering of like-minded conservatives in the world. With nearly 10,000 attendees, CPAC’s main goal is to energize and represent leading organizations, elected officials, media, and activists who influence and educate the conservative movement. Although CPAC is usually held in Washington, D.C., they have started regional conferences in 2011 and have traveled to places such as Orlando, St. Louis, Chicago, and Denver.
Half of the attendees are around college-aged, which shows how important this conference is for shaping ideas for the future of the conservative movement. The movement is working to get back to their founding roots and incorporate more youth based activities and focus more on grassroots initiative.
One of the reasons CPAC is so important is the Straw Poll, which helps to gauge the feelings and ideas important to the conservative movement. Attendees of the conference fill out a survey with questions of a variety of issues that are plaguing our country at the moment. Previous winners of the Straw Poll include Ronald Reagan, Steve Forbes, Rudy Guiliani, and Mitt Romney.
Current speakers for CPAC 2015 include current governor of Indiana Mike Pence, Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and many others. We will be exhibiting this year and would love to meet y’all. If you are curious about us or have any questions, please stop by Booth 115 and we will give you an online demonstration of our services! If you are curious about the agenda for the conference, click here. We are so excited to be at CPAC and we hope to see you there!
