The Conservative Political Action Conference returns to Washington, D.C., Wednesday, where announced 2024 presidential candidates Donald J. Trump and Nikki Haley are highlighted speakers.

But CPAC and its chief, Matt Schlapp – widely credited for Trump’s rise as a presidential candidate in 2016 – are under a cloud as Schlapp was accused in early January of sexual misconduct. CPAC’s parent organization, the American Conservative Union has “denounced the claim as a political attack,” according to The Washington Post. The otherwise anonymous accuser is a former staff member to Herschel Walker in his 2022 midterm campaign for a U.S. Senate seat from Georgia.

CPAC runs through Saturday.

Meanwhile: Trump topped Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has yet to declare, in a Fox News poll of 2024 Republican presidential candidates Monday, 43% to 28%, with Haley (the only other declared candidate beside Trump) tied with former Vice President Mike Pence at 7%, according to The Hill. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott grabbed 2%. In earlier polls pitting Trump against DeSantis alone, DeSantis dominated with no dilution by other potential candidates.

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