President Trump has filed a lawsuit against the Des Moines Register and its lead pollster, J. Ann Selzer, accusing them of brazen election interference and fraud related to their final 2024 presidential poll.
The poll, published just days before the election, showed Kamala Harris leading Trump in Iowa, despite his eventual victory in the state by over 13 percentage points.
Filed Monday night in Polk County, Iowa, under the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act, the lawsuit alleges misconduct by the Des Moines Register, Selzer, and associated parties. It claims the poll, released on November 2, was “manipulated” to favor Harris and described it as “an attempt to influence the outcome of the 2024 Presidential Election.” The lawsuit also argues that the poll was intentionally leaked to create “a false narrative of inevitability for Harris.”
“Contrary to reality and defying credulity, defendants’ Harris Poll was published three days before Election Day and purported to show Harris leading President Trump in Iowa by three points; President Trump ultimately won Iowa by over thirteen points,” the lawsuit states.
Selzer’s poll had shown a dramatic shift, with Harris gaining seven points over Trump since September, when Trump had held a four-point lead. However, Trump’s landslide win in Iowa cast doubt on the poll’s accuracy, which had been widely regarded as reliable due to Selzer’s reputation.
Trump’s attorneys dismissed the poll’s results as “election-interfering fiction,” asserting that Selzer’s predictions served to mislead voters and undermine Trump’s campaign efforts. They criticized her for “priding herself on a mainstream reputation for accuracy despite several far less publicized egregious polling misses in favor of Democrats.”
“The Harris Poll was no ‘miss’ but rather an attempt to influence the outcome of the 2024 Presidential Election,” the lawsuit alleges. It further claims that Democrats used the poll to “create a false narrative of inevitability for Harris” in an election they ultimately lost decisively.
The lawsuit notes that after more than 35 years in the industry, Selzer “retired in disgrace” less than two weeks after the election.
Trump’s legal team also accused Selzer of engaging in biased practices common among “left-wing pollsters,” arguing that such manipulated polls “deceive the public into believing that Democrat candidates are performing better than they really are.” They allege that this “unfair act or practice” caused significant harm by misleading voters, diverting campaign resources, and creating an inaccurate portrayal of the election race in Iowa.
“While Selzer is not the only pollster to engage in this corrupt practice, she had a huge platform and following and, thus, a significant and impactful opportunity to deceive voters,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit demands actual damages, statutory damages of up to three times the actual damages, and an injunction requiring the defendants to disclose all information related to the poll’s methodology. Trump also seeks attorneys’ fees and any additional relief deemed appropriate by the court.
