Michelle Obama Emerges as CPAC Poll Winner

Conservatives believe that former first lady Michelle Obama will end up being the Democratic presidential nominee instead of Joe Biden, according to a new straw poll.

The view was put forward at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) when respondents were asked about their thoughts relating to the Democratic ticket ahead of this year's presidential election.

Biden, the incumbent, and former President Donald Trump, the Republican frontrunner, are both seeking a second term in the White House come November. However, questions related to the age and mental fitness of Trump, 77, and Biden, 81, have been consistent talking points during the primary season. Age has been a concern among voters in a hypothetical rematch between the two.

Despite facing a string of legal woes and contending with two serious rivals from the GOP who hoped to win the party's nomination, Trump saw off challenger Ron DeSantis after the Florida governor withdrew from the race in January. DeSantis then subsequently offered his support to Trump. However, former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley is still fighting the former president to win the Republican nomination.

In terms of internal rivalry, Representative Dean Phillips, a Minnesota Democrat, is running a long-shot rival campaign against Biden who has won the South Carolina, Nevada, and New Hampshire Democratic primaries.

Despite Biden's support from Democrats, a majority of conservatives at CPAC (56 percent) believe that Biden will not be the party's nominee when the time comes.

And, in a further twist, in the survey of 1,478 respondents conducted by McLaughlin & Associates from Wednesday to Saturday, some 47 percent—almost half of those questioned—said they predict that Michelle Obama will stand in his place instead.

Other names considered likely replacements were California Governor Gavin Newsom (32 percent), Vice President Kamala Harris (6 percent), and Democrat-turned-independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (2 percent).

Newsweek has reached out by email to the White House and Obama's spokesperson for comment.

It's not the first time that Michelle Obama's name has been touted as a possible presidential candidate.

According to Fox News, former White House and Pentagon official Douglas MacKinnon signaled that she may emerge as a contender, adding that Democrats could push her to run. And betting companies have also made her the favorite should Biden drop out of the race for any reason.

However, Obama—who lived in the White House during husband Barack Obama's presidency from 2009 until January 2017—has previously denied any desire to seek office.

During an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2013, she said: "I've never expressed any interest in politics. Ever. I mean, I agreed to support my husband. He wanted to do it, and he was great at it. But at no point have I ever said, 'I think I want to run.' Ever. So, I'm just wondering: Does what I want have anything to do with anything? Does who I choose to be have anything to do with it?"

Michelle Obama added that she intends to dedicate her time to a life of service, and is particularly interested in helping children, but added: "Politics is hard [...] It's got to be in your soul because it is so important. It is not in my soul. Service is in my soul. Helping people is in my soul. Working with kids? I will spend my lifetime trying to make kids feel seen and find their light. That I will do. I don't have to hold office to do that."

She also made similar claims in a Today interview in 2018, saying she didn't want the top job.

Nevertheless, she has admitted that this year's presidential contest is something that keeps her awake at night, saying: "What's going to happen in this next election? I'm terrified about what could possibly happen because our leaders matter [...] and we cannot take this democracy for granted. And I worry sometimes that we do. Those are the things that keep me up."

Her comments, made during an episode of the On Purpose with Jay Shetty podcast last month, went viral after Trump supporters slammed her claims.