Trump calls J. Ann Selzer a 'hater' and claims Iowa polls are ‘suppression,' pollster responds

The Iowa polls revealed Kamala Harris in the lead on Saturday predicting her victory for November 5 in the state. This was followed by Donald Trump’s criticism of the survey. The former president took to his Truth Social platform to denounce the survey and its new finding which he had won twice previously. The pollster Ann Selzer has now responded to Trump’s scathing remarks about his poll in an email to Newsweek.

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Seltzer responds to Trump’s criticism

Trump wrote on his platform on Sunday, November 3, “No President has done more for FARMERS, and the Great State of Iowa, than Donald J. Trump. In fact, it's not even close! All polls, except for one heavily skewed toward the Democrats by a Trump hater who called it totally wrong the last time, have me up, BY A LOT. I LOVE THE FARMERS, AND THEY LOVE ME. THE JUST OUT EMERSON POLL HAS ME UP 10 POINTS IN IOWA. THANK YOU!"

In one of his speeches in Pennsylvania on Sunday, he described Sezler as a “Trump hater” and said, “It's called suppression. They suppress, and it actually should be illegal,” referencing to the polls.

The Iowa poll, organised by Selzer & Co for the Des Moines Register and Mediacom, revealed that Harris was backed by 47 per cent of the Iowa supporters whereas Trump was supported by 44 per cent.

Selzer responded to Trump’s criticism in an email to the news outlet where he wrote, “These are the kinds of comments seen for virtually any poll, including mine. The Des Moines Register includes a methodology statement with each story they publish. It's the same methodology used to show Trump winning Iowa in the final polls in 2016 and 2020. It would not be in my best interest, or that of my clients—The Des Moines Register and Mediacom—to conjure fake numbers.”

On Monday, Selzer said in a phone interview, "I’ve been the outlier queen so many times. I’m not jumpy,” as reported by NYT. Selzer’s poll results were in high contrast to the findings of the other surveys where Trump was in the lead. This included polls by Emerson College which found Trump victorious with a 9-point lead and were also released on Saturday.

Trump’s senior advisor, Jason Miller commented on the polls and described them with “every cycle there's one idiotic survey,” according to X posts from reporters at CNN and NBC.

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Who is J. Ann Selzer?

Selzer is a renowned Iowa pollster who accurately predicted Trump's victory in 2016 and 2020 in the Hawkeye state. Since 1987, she has been running The Des Moines Register's Iowa polls, beginning as a Register staff. A decade later in 1997, she and Selzer & Co. (her polling firm) began doing the polls on a contract basis.

Selzer completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Kansas in her home state and earned her graduation degree from the University of Iowa.

Why are Selzer’s polls important?

The Iowa poll findings matter as Selzer has a reputation for being highly accurate in last-minute polls with shocking revelations. Right before the 2020 US elections, her polls found Trump in the lead with 48 per cent while Joe Biden was backed by 41 per cent. That year, Trump won Iowa by 53 per cent whereas Biden got 45 per cent support in the state.

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