ORLANDO — The race for the 2024 Republican nomination begins in the hovering shadow of former President Donald Trump as contenders vying to succeed him atop the GOP descend on the Conservative Political Action Conference to woo party activists.

Defeated by President Biden in November, Trump is still a winner in the hearts of so many Republican voters; they would love to see him mount a third White House bid. The 45th president, declining to rule it out, is to address CPAC Sunday in central Florida, just a short trip from his new home base in Palm Beach, in the most anticipated speech of the annual gathering of Republican insiders and grassroots conservatives.