cpac s dominated this year by trump loyalists, like representative jim jordan, marjorie taylor greene, and matt gates, kari lake a prominent election denier, who lost the governor s race in arizona last december was also a guest speaker. so is steve bannon, and pillow salesman mike redell. key republican leaders like house speaker kevin mccarthy, senate majority leader mitch mcconnell, and rnc chair woman did not take part in cpac this week. meanwhile, other possible presidential candidates sat out the conference in favor of a different event this weekend. a sign of how the republican party remains splintered with some of its members trying to chart a new path forward, and leave donald trump far behind. instead of cpac, florida governor ron desantis, former vice president mike pence, south carolina senator tim scott, and new hampshire governor chris sununu opted to attend a private retreat with donors hosted by the conservative organization club for growth. another group has