DES MOINES, Iowa — An Iowa judge has dismissed President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against pollster J. Ann Selzer and The Des Moines Register, ruling that an inaccurate pre-election poll did not amount to consumer fraud and was protected political speech.
The disputed November 2024 poll showed Kamala Harris leading Trump by 3 percentage points in Iowa. Trump ultimately won the state by more than 13 points. He argued that the poll was deceptive and violated Iowa’s consumer-fraud and misrepresentation laws.
Iowa District Court Judge Scott Beattie rejected that argument Wednesday, writing that Trump’s complaint attempted to stretch state law far beyond its existing limits and impose liability on speech receiving the highest level of First Amendment protection. The case was dismissed with prejudice, preventing Trump from simply refiling the same claims in state court.
Trump originally filed the case in December 2024, later dropped a federal version and refiled a substantially similar complaint in Iowa state court.
Selzer welcomed the ruling, saying polling is “a social science, not clairvoyance” and that pollsters cannot guarantee election results. She has consistently denied manipulating the survey or acting with political intent.
The ruling distinguishes between a poll that proved substantially wrong and evidence of deliberate fraud. Trump’s attorneys had not immediately announced whether they would pursue an appeal.
Sources
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