speaking at the 1985 CPAC speaking at the 2008 CPAC speaking at the 2018 CPAC
1974 The conference was founded in 1974 by the
American Conservative Union and
Young Americans for Freedom as a small gathering of dedicated conservatives.
Ronald Reagan gave the inaugural keynote speech at CPAC in 1974. The presidential hopeful used it to share his vision for the country—"A Shining City Upon a Hill," words borrowed from
John Winthrop.
2010–2017 The 2010 CPAC featured co-sponsorship for the first time from
GOProud, a gay conservative group. GOProud is credited in the media for initiating talks with ACU to invite
Donald Trump to speak at CPAC 2011. The 2011 CPAC speech Trump gave is credited with helping kick-start his political career within the
Republican Party.
Christopher R. Barron, co-founder of GOProud, who later endorsed Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and launched LGBT for Trump, said he "would love to see Mr. Trump run for president". In 2014, CPAC extended an invitation to
American Atheists, which was immediately withdrawn on the same day due to controversial statements by AA's president David Silverman, who declared his group was going to "enlighten conservatives" and that "the
Christian right should be threatened by us". The 2015 CPAC featured
Jamila Bey who became the first atheist activist to address CPAC's annual meeting. The 2016 CPAC featured co-sponsorship for the first time from the
Log Cabin Republicans. In December 2016, CPAC extended a speaking invitation to conservative blogger
Milo Yiannopoulos, despite his history of controversial views on feminism, racial minorities, and transgender issues. The invitation was canceled when the
Reagan Battalion re-posted a video of 2016 and 2015
YouTube videos in which Yiannopoulos
is heard making comments defending sexual relationships between adult men and 13-year-old boys, citing his own sexual experiences at that age with a Catholic priest.
Richard Spencer, a figurehead of the
alt-right and a
white supremacist, entered the lobby of the Gaylord National Hotel on February 23, 2017, in an attempt to access CPAC. Organizers of the conference ejected him from the hotel as soon as his presence was discovered, citing his "repugnant [views which] ... have absolutely nothing to do with conservatism or what we do here" as cause for rejecting his admission to CPAC. ACU's Executive Director Dan Schneider castigated Spencer and the alt-right in a main-stage speech, calling them "garden-variety, left-wing fascists," and saying that the alt-right "despises everything [conservatives] believe in". Media members across the political spectrum condemned the intrusion as yet another attempt by groups like the
alt-right to conceal their extremist views within a legitimate philosophy. Opinion columns in
The New York Times, and articles in
Mother Jones and
Rolling Stone voiced concern about the 2017 interview of former Trump adviser
Steve Bannon and former Trump Chief-of-Staff
Reince Priebus with ACU Chairman
Matt Schlapp, advocating for the American Right to reject the tenets of the alt-right, including homophobia,
xenophobia, sexism, and racism.
2019 The 2019 Conservative Political Action Conference was held at the
Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in
Oxon Hill, Maryland, from February 28 to March 2, 2019. The event was headlined by President Trump, with many additional speakers. Themes throughout the conference were fighting against socialism, abortion, and criticizing
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the
Green New Deal.
2020–2021 In 2020, CPAC hosted its main event just prior to the federal emergency declaration regarding the
COVID-19 pandemic. On Saturday, March 7, 2020, ACU confirmed that an attendee at the 2020 CPAC had tested positive for
COVID-19. Senator
Ted Cruz, Representatives
Matt Gaetz,
Paul Gosar,
Doug Collins, and
Mark Meadows had recent contact with the patient, who remained unnamed; none of whom would go on to test positive immediately after the event. The following year, the 2021 Conservative Political Action Conference was held during the COVID-19 pandemic. The previous customary venue for CPAC, Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in
National Harbor, Maryland, was subject to restrictions in
Maryland, issued by Republican governor
Larry Hogan, who had restricted gathering sizes to a maximum of 10. As a result, the conference was relocated to
Orlando, Florida, The event was still subject to Orlando mandatory mask-wearing rules. Notwithstanding those restrictions, numerous attendees chose to not wear masks during the event, despite frequent announcements by the event's organizers and hotel staff, requesting attendees to comply with the local mask-wearing mandate. Florida Governor
Ron DeSantis characterized the state's resistance to pandemic gathering-size limits as comporting with the state's status as "an oasis of freedom." The theme of the conference was immigration policy and border security, in the context of the ongoing
migrant crisis at the U.S. Southern Border.
2022 The 2022 conference was held on February 24 to 27 in
Orlando, Florida. Speakers included Trump, Florida governor
Ron DeSantis, and former Democratic congresswoman and presidential candidate
Tulsi Gabbard. As in 2021, a second conference was held in
Dallas, Texas from August 4 to 6. Speakers included Trump, Hungarian Prime Minister
Viktor Orbán, Arizona Republican Gubernatorial candidate
Kari Lake, and many congressional representatives. As part of one of the 2022 break-out sessions, the Dallas CPAC conference displayed a banner across their main stage with the phrase "We are all
domestic terrorists."
2023 CPAC returned to
National Harbor, Maryland for their 2023 conference. Major speakers at the winter event included
Donald Trump,
Steve Bannon, U.S. House members
Marjorie Taylor Greene,
Matt Gaetz and
Lauren Boebert, presidential candidate
Nikki Haley, and
Donald Trump Jr. Attendance was thinner than at previous conferences, with the main ballroom often half-full during speeches, though Trump drew a capacity crowd. He said he would not withdraw from the 2024 presidential race if he was indicted as a result of federal and state investigations underway. CNN fact checker
Daniel Dale found that Trump "made some of his most thoroughly dishonest speeches" at the conference. Trump said, in part: In 2016, I declared: I am your voice. Today, I add: I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed: I am your retribution. Also during the conference political commentator
Michael Knowles called for the elimination of "transgenderism," arguing that those who identify as
transgender are "laboring a delusion, and we need to correct that delusion." Knowles further stated that "there can be no middle way in dealing with transgenderism," and that "for the good of society, and especially for the good of the poor people who have fallen prey to this confusion, transgenderism must be eradicated from public life entirely." Knowles' comments were criticized by several political media figures, including
civil rights attorney
Alejandra Caraballo, describing them as
genocidal. Knowles demanded that
The Daily Beast retract a headline stating that he was calling for the eradication of the "transgender community". Presidential candidate
Vivek Ramaswamy later alleged that a political consultant with ties to CPAC had offered to rig the straw poll in his favor in exchange for a fee exceeding $100,000, which Ramaswamy refused. Longtime CPAC board member and vice-chair
Charlie Gerow resigned in August 2023, calling for investigations of
Matt Schlapp and the organization's financial practices. He said, "The situation at CPAC has become such that I felt compelled to resign." Four other longtime board members resigned earlier in the year, with one citing concerns over CPAC's financial reports. In December 2023, CPAC was accused of covering up
sexual assault allegations against Schlapp in a lawsuit against him.
2024 CPAC returned to National Harbor, Maryland, for their February 21–24, 2024 conference. Speakers included Donald Trump, Vivek Ramaswamy,
Ben Carson, Steve Bannon,
Nigel Farage,
Liz Truss,
Javier Milei,
Nayib Bukele,
Santiago Abascal, deposed Catholic bishop
Joseph Strickland, as well as Senators and Members of Congress.
Politico noted that CPAC had been diminished due to the previous year's scandals involving Matt Schlapp and belief that the conference had "come to be seen as a mere adjunct of
Trumpism". The event notably featured several
neo-Nazis who were able to secure official CPAC badges to walk the show floor and were not ejected unlike previous years. In addition to the annual presidential straw poll, a poll was also taken on who should be presumptive nominee Trump's vice president.
Kristi Noem and Vivek Ramaswamy tied at 15%, followed by
Tulsi Gabbard at 9%, and
Elise Stefanik and
Tim Scott at 8%. Opposition to Donald Trump among some conservatives led to a rival conference held by the group Principles First.
2025 at the 2025 CPAC Speakers of the 2025 conference included
Donald Trump,
JD Vance,
Liz Truss and
Elon Musk. Argentine President
Javier Milei gave Musk a chainsaw which Musk called the "chainsaw for bureaucracy".
Steve Bannon spoke, closing his pro-Trump remarks with what appeared to some as a
Nazi salute. The incident came one month after
Elon Musk made a similar salute during a Trump inaugural appearance. The following day, Mexican actor
Eduardo Verástegui made a similar salute after saying, "My heart goes out to all of you" and touching his chest, in a manner similar to the Musk incident. President of the French populist right-wing party
National Rally (RN),
Jordan Bardella canceled his speech to the conference (CPAC) after the Bannon incident. Slovak Prime Minister
Robert Fico delivered an enthusiastic endorsement of Donald Trump. At CPAC 2025, conservative groups, such as the Third Term Project, supported
Tennessee representative
Andy Ogles proposed resolution to amend the
Twenty-Second Amendment, allowing for presidents who have served two non-consecutive terms to seek a third term and promoted the idea of Trump running for an as-yet unconstitutional third term. ==Annual straw poll==