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Iowa pollster Ann Selzer retires after major miss, Trump wants investigation


Ann Selzer, the pollster behind the Des Moines Register’s election poll that showed Donald Trump trailing Kamala Harris by 3 percentage points in Iowa, has announced her retirement. The poll, which ultimately missed the mark by more than 16 percentage points, generated significant reaction and controversy.

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Published just days before the 2024 election, it predicted a dramatic loss for Trump in deep-red Iowa. Some media outlets labeled the poll as a “stunning warning” for Trump, suggesting it “could spell trouble” for his campaign.

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In the wake of the poll’s release, bets on a Trump victory dropped by more than 10 percentage points on Polymarket, and Trump’s stock on Truth Social also declined.

Selzer had served as the lead pollster for the Iowa Poll since 1997. Despite the recent miss, the poll has a long track record of accuracy, correctly predicting the outcome of five of the last seven presidential races.

Although the poll’s flawed prediction drew criticism, Selzer said she had decided to retire a year ago, long before the 2024 poll was released. She acknowledged that the survey was a “big miss” but suggested it may have inadvertently energized Republican voters in Iowa, contributing to Trump’s eventual easy victory in the state.

Trump, however, was quick to dismiss the poll and is now calling for an “investigation.” He posted on Truth Social, calling the poll “a totally fake poll” that created “great distrust and uncertainty” at a critical time. Trump thanked Iowa voters for his victory and alleged “election fraud” by Selzer and the Des Moines Register. He called for an investigation into the poll.

In her farewell column, Selzer admitted that polling is an unpredictable “science of estimation” and expressed humility over the results. She also emphasized the importance of integrity in her work and said she would learn from the unexpected findings.

The Des Moines Register responded to the poll’s inaccuracy, with executive editor Carol Hunter stating that the newspaper plans to “reimagine” its polling methods in the future to better reflect public sentiment and improve accuracy. Gannett Media, which owns the Register, acknowledged that it had failed to meet its mission of providing “trusted news and content,” admitting that the poll did not deliver on that promise.

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THE POLLSTER BEHIND THE DES MOINES REGISTER ELECTION POLL THAT HAD TRUMP LOSING TO HARRIS BY 3 PERCENTAGE POINTS IN IOWA –

IS NOW RETIRING.

THE POLL –

ENDED UP BEING OFF BY MORE THAN 16 PERCENTAGE POINTS –

BUT WHEN IT PUBLISHED IT STIRRED UP A LOT OF REACTION –

AND CONTROVERSY FOR TRUMP GIVEN SUCH A DRAMATIC LOSS PREDICTION IN DEEP RED IOWA.

SOME OF THE NEWS COVERAGE OF THE POLL SUGGESTED IT SERVED AS “A STUNNING WARNING FOR TRUMP”.

AND SUGGESTED IT “COULD SPELL TROUBLE” FOR HIM.

AS A RESULT OF THE “SURPRISE POLL” –

POLYMARKET BETS OF A TRUMP WIN DROPPED BY MORE THAN 10 PERCENTAGE POINTS –

AND TRUMP’S TRUTH SOCIAL STOCK FELL AFTER THE POLL WAS PUBLISHED.

ANN SELZER HAS BEEN THE LEAD POLLSTER FOR THE IOWA POLL SINCE 1997 –

DESPITE THIS LATEST MISS – THE POLL IS SEEN AS ONE OF THE MORE ACCURATE ONES –

CORRECTLY PREDICTING RESULTS IN FIVE OF THE NOW-SEVEN MOST RECENT PRESIDENTIAL RACES.

AND WHILE THE ANNOUNCEMENT FOLLOWS BLOWBACK FROM THE POLL’S RECENT MAJOR MISS –

SELZER SAYS SHE HAD MADE THE DECISION TO RETIRE FROM POLLING A YEAR AGO.

SELZER ADMITTED THE 2024 POLL WAS “A BIG MISS” –

BUT ALSO SAID THE POLL COULD HAVE ENERGIZED REPUBLICAN VOTERS IN THE STATE – LEADING TO TRUMP’S EASY IOWA CARRY.

BUT TRUMP HIMSELF –

WAS SKEPTICAL OF THE POLL FROM THE START –

AND IS NOW WANTING “AN INVESTIGATION”.

TRUMP POSTED TO TRUTH SOCIAL –

“A totally Fake poll that caused great distrust and uncertainty at a very critical time. She knew exactly what she was doing. Thank you to the GREAT PEOPLE OF IOWA for giving me such a record breaking vote, despite possible ELECTION FRAUD by Ann Selzer and the now discredited “newspaper” for which she works. An investigation is fully called for!”

IN HER FAREWELL COLUMN, SELZER ACKNOWLEDGED THE UNPREDICTABLE NATURE OF POLLING, DESCRIBING IT AS A “SCIENCE OF ESTIMATION” THAT CAN SOMETIMES HUMBLE EVEN THE MOST EXPERIENCED POLLSTERS. 

SHE EMPHASIZED THE IMPORTANCE OF INTEGRITY IN HER WORK AND EXPRESSED A WILLINGNESS TO LEARN FROM THE UNEXPECTED RESULTS.

THE DES MOINES REGISTER ALSO ADDRESSED THE POLL’S INACCURACY, WITH ITS EXECUTIVE EDITOR SAYING THAT THE NEWSPAPER PLANS TO “REIMAGINE” HOW IT CONDUCTS POLLING IN THE FUTURE TO BETTER CAPTURE PUBLIC SENTIMENT AND IMPROVE ACCURACY. 

GANNETT MEDIA, WHICH OWNS THE REGISTER, SAYS ITS MISSION IS TO PROVIDE “TRUSTED NEWS AND CONTENT” –

AND SAYS THEY “DID NOT DELIVER ON THAT PROMISE” WHEN SHRING THE RESULTS OF THE IOWA POLL.

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