Incident
Trump sues Des Moines Register and pollster Ann Selzer over final Iowa poll
President-elect Trump sued the Des Moines Register and longtime pollster Ann Selzer under Iowa's consumer fraud law over her final pre-election poll, which showed Kamala Harris ahead in Iowa days before Trump won the state; a judge later questioned whether the case could proceed without discouraging election reporting.1234
What happened
On December 16, 2024, Trump sued the Des Moines Register, its parent Gannett, and pollster J. Ann Selzer in federal court in Iowa, invoking the state's consumer fraud act and alleging Selzer's final pre-election poll, which showed Kamala Harris ahead in Iowa, amounted to what he called "brazen election interference" rather than a simple polling error. Trump said Selzer "knew exactly what she was doing." The defendants denied the claims. In June 2025, Trump's lawyers withdrew the case from federal court and refiled it in Polk County District Court, a move that let two Iowa-resident co-plaintiffs remain in the suit after jurisdictional problems in federal court. At a July 2026 hearing on the defendants' motion to dismiss, Judge Scott Beattie said allowing the case to proceed could carry broad consequences for anyone who publishes polling or predictions before an election.1234
What reason was given
Stated justificationTrump's complaint said Selzer's poll was not a mere misfire but "brazen election interference," and Trump said publicly that Selzer "knew exactly what she was doing."12
What changed for reporting
A sitting president used a state consumer-protection statute, usually applied to commercial transactions, against a newspaper's published opinion poll, raising the question of whether pollsters and outlets could face liability for predictions that do not match an election result.1234
Timeline
2024
Who acted
| Name | Role in this incident | Office at the time |
|---|---|---|
| Donald Trump | ordered | President of the United States |
Outlets and journalists
| Name | Kind | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| Des Moines Register | outlet | affected |
Sources
- Trump moves his lawsuit against Register and its pollster from federal court to state court
- Judge in Trump election-poll lawsuit cites potential 'chilling effect' on free speech
Claims and evidence
Each numbered claim quotes the source it rests on.
- Trump's complaint characterized Selzer's poll as intentional election interference rather than a polling error.
deliberately overstated support for the Democratic nominee for president, Vice President Kamala Harris, by 16 percentage points
Trump moves his lawsuit against Register and its pollster from federal court to state court, Iowa Capital Dispatch, 2025-06-30.Claim 363, checked 2026-09-22. - Trump said publicly that Selzer knew exactly what she was doing when she published the poll.
She knew exactly what she was doing
Trump moves his lawsuit against Register and its pollster from federal court to state court, Iowa Capital Dispatch, 2025-06-30.Claim 364, checked 2026-09-22. - The judge said the case's implications for free speech were significant enough to weigh heavily in deciding whether it could proceed.
Because of the massive – I'll say it – because of the massive First Amendment implications that are here, there is an element of chilling that would come with that.
Judge in Trump election-poll lawsuit cites potential 'chilling effect' on free speech, Iowa Capital Dispatch, 2026-07-10.Claim 365, checked 2026-09-22. - The judge said allowing similar cases to proceed past a motion to dismiss could have wide effects on reporting.
It seems like there'd be a massive chilling effect if any case is allowed get past the motion-to-dismiss phase for a defendant of this nature.
Judge in Trump election-poll lawsuit cites potential 'chilling effect' on free speech, Iowa Capital Dispatch, 2026-07-10.Claim 366, checked 2026-09-22.