Republican presidential bigs skip CPAC as Ted Cruz prepares to fire up conservative crowd

Most of the biggest names in Republican presidential politics are skipping CPAC this year – an event that usually serves as an early proving ground for candidates trying to fire up the party’s activist base.

One longtime Republican with eyes on the White House – Sen. Ted Cruz – is making the most of it, soaking up the available limelight.

President Trump wasn’t expected to attend, with plans to fly to Mar-a-Lago for the weekend after speaking at the Saudi-backed Future Investment Initiative summit in Miami.

Two leading contenders to succeed him, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have their hands full, as does Trump, with the war in Iran, even as the president extended a Friday deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian leaders have signaled they want Vance as negotiating partner after two rounds of prior talks blew up. He had been in Austin and Dallas earlier in the week headline big-dollar fundraisers for the Republican National Committee, but came back to DC.

The group is holding the confab far outside the DC orbit this year, choosing Grapevine, Texas, outside Dallas. Republican House members had heard about it, but a fraction made the trip. Many were stuck in Washington while the House and Senate slogged through votes to try to fund Homeland Security and get TSA agents paid.

Among those who were going was Cruz, who got a prime Saturday speaking slot.

He has been a favorite among CPAC attendees in the past, and has been adept at cultivating activist enthusiasm. He beat Trump and Rubio in the 2016 Iowa Caucuses. Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott also spoke.

The group’s annual “straw poll” gives an indication of which candidate is exciting the base, and will be announced Saturday.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is locked in a nasty Senate primary runoff fight against Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), was honored at the group’s Ronald Reagan dinner Friday night. He was spotted at Mar-a-Lago the week before.

Cornyn, perhaps reading the room, didn’t go. “I have a day job here in the Senate,” he explained beforehand. Trump did not endorse either man in the runoff before a deadline for candidates to get off the ballot.

No members of the Trump family were scheduled to attend, although they have been stars of CPAC in the past.