Thousands of conservative activists have converged in Washington this week for the annual Conservative Political Action Conference.

One of the most notable items on the conference's three-day agenda is a straw poll for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination that lists 15 contenders, an "undecided" option and a space for a write-in candidate.

The 15 candidates on the ballot are:

• U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann
• Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour
• Former Godfather's Pizza CEO Herman Cain
• New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie
• Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels
• Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich
• Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee
• Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman
• Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson
• Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin
• Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty
• U.S. Rep. Ron Paul
• Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney
• Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum
• U.S. Sen. John Thune

U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, won last year's CPAC poll with 31 percent of the vote over second-place finisher Mitt  Romney, who garnered 22 percent. Romney had won the poll the three previous years.