An Iowa judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Donald Trump that accused The Des Moines Register and its former pollster of misrepresenting data in the 2024 presidential race. The ruling by Iowa District Judge Scott J. Beattie rejected Trump's claim that the newspaper's poll coverage violated Iowa's consumer fraud law, siding with pollster J. Ann Selzer and The Register.
Beattie stated that Trump's suit attempted to extend Iowa statutory and common law beyond their current scope, characterizing the attempt to hold speech with the highest category of First Amendment protection liable as "too great" and "too far."
The lawsuit, filed in December 2024, alleged that Selzer, The Des Moines Register, and the newspaper's parent company fraudulently published inaccurate poll results to harm Trump and aid Democrats. Trump's team argued that poll coverage is not protected speech. U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and former Iowa state Sen. Brad Zaun, both Republicans, joined the lawsuit.
The poll in question, conducted by Selzer’s company in late October 2024 and released shortly before Election Day, showed then-Vice President Kamala Harris with 47% of likely Iowa voters compared to Trump's 44%. Trump ultimately secured 56% of the nearly 2 million votes cast in Iowa.
Trump, Miller-Meeks, and Zaun contended that the coverage diminished their reputations, wasted valuable campaign time, and cost campaign funds and resources. The defense, supported by the free speech advocacy group Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, argued that polls and their coverage are constitutionally protected political speech, not commercial speech, regardless of potential profit.
They further disputed the consumer fraud claim, emphasizing that the poll and its coverage were unrelated to any transactions involving Trump, Miller-Meeks, or Zaun. The case, after a year of legal proceedings, was heard in state court after defendants sought to move it to federal court.