Trump Iowa poll lawsuit dismissed by judge

An Iowa judge dismissed Donald Trump's lawsuit against pollster Ann Selzer and the Des Moines Register over a 2024 election poll that showed him losing the state shortly before he won it.

Trump sued over a survey published days before the vote that showed him trailing Democratic rival Kamala Harris by three points in Iowa. Trump, who won Iowa in 2016 and 2020, went on to win the state in 2024 by 13 points.

Trump argued that the poll amounted to "election interference" and "consumer fraud." Judge Scott Beattie rejected those arguments in a 64-page ruling on Wednesday, saying polling is speech protected by the First Amendment.

"A poll during a presidential and congressional election year is speech about a matter of public concern," Beattie wrote. He dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning it cannot be brought again.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which represented Selzer, welcomed the ruling.