The Conservative Political Action Conference begins in the Washington, D.C., area on Wednesday, a four-day event billed as the conservative movement’s most influential gathering of the year.

This year, CPAC will compete with a counter event later this week which will feature prominent critics of the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, Donald Trump.

What You Need To Know

  • The Conservative Political Action Conference begins in the Washington, D.C., area on Wednesday, a four-day event billed as the conservative movement’s most influential gathering of the year

  • For the second year in a row, a number of prominent conservatives are not planning to attend CPAC 2024 and the roster of speakers appears to be less diverse and instead is stacked with allies of former President Donald Trump

  • Trump will return as the event's keynote speaker, and this year's lineup will feature a number of his allies; former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who is running against Trump for the Republican presidential nomination, is not on the guest list

  • Nonprofit Principles First is hosting its own summit this weekend as a counter event to CPAC featuring critics of Trump, including including fomer Illinois congressman Adam Kinzinger, one of two Republicans to serve on the House committee probing the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol

For the second year in a row, a number of prominent conservatives are not planning to attend CPAC 2024 and the roster of speakers appears to be less diverse and instead is stacked with Trump loyalists.

Trump will return as the event's keynote speaker, and this year's lineup will feature a number of his allies, including former rival for the Republican nomination Vivek Ramaswamy, House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and Sens. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and J.D. Vance, R-Ohio.

After appearing at CPAC in 2023, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who is running against Trump for the Republican presidential nomination, is not on the guest list, despite her efforts to court as many Republican votes as possible in upcoming primary contests. 

CPAC organizers declined to comment to Spectrum News. But a spokesperson for the Democratic National Committee characterized CPAC as "a sad stomping ground for out-of-touch MAGA extremists and ballot box losers to hawk some of the most unpopular policies you’ve ever heard.” 

"If you’re looking for a solid preview of candidates sure to lose races and up and down the ballot in 2024, there’s no better place to be than CPAC,” DNC spokesperson Alex Floyd said in a statement to Spectrum News.

Nonprofit Principles First is hosting its own summit this weekend as a counter event to CPAC. The self-described grassroots movement of people who love democracy but have concerns about the direction of conservative leadership, says they saw a gap in what CPAC has to offer people on the right.

“I think it's important that conservatives have a choice particularly right now where, you know, it seems to be dominated by Donald Trump and his supporters and this cult of personality," said Heath Mayo, the Founder of Principles First. 

"I used to go to CPAC all the time," Mayo added. "When I was in college, it was still a good place where libertarians, social conservatives, economic conservatives would get together and really hash out the debates around economic policy or foreign policy ... now it is just a circus." 

Many of the speakers who are on the Principles First summit roster this weekend are critics of former President Trump, including fomer Illinois congressman Adam Kinzinger, one of two Republicans to serve on the House committee probing the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, former Republican presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson and former Trump White House Aide Cassidy Hutchinson. 

“I think it's important that there'll be a gathering that's focused on substance rather than the craziness that you're going to see at CPAC," Mayo added.