Pollster Ann Selzer reviewing data after setting off media firestorm with Iowa poll showing Harris ahead
Pollster J.Ann Selzer is “reviewing her data” to determine why her pre-election poll, which set off a multi-day media firestorm, inaccurately showed Vice President Kamala Harris leading in Iowa.Selzer is “reviewing her data to determine why a Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll released just days before the election produced results so far out of line with former President Donald Trump’s resounding victory,” according to the Des Moines Register.The shock poll showed a 7-point shift from President-elect Donald Trump to Harris from September, when he had a 4-point lead over the vice president (47% to 43%) in the same survey.
The Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa poll released Saturday had Harris up 47% to 44%, in a state Trump had carried easily in 2016 and 2020 and wasn’t considered a swing state in 2024.Selzer, president of Selzer & Co., who conducted the poll, declared Harris had clearly “leaped into a leading position” ahead of Election Day.Much of the media took her words as gospel, as pundits on MSNBC, CNN and ABC’s “The View” all celebrated the forecast.Even if it didn’t necessarily mean Harris would win Iowa given the polling average, a narrative spread that it could incidate a broader shift in the Midwest to Harris in more competitive states.“If this is accurate, and if anybody is accurate, it’s likely to be Ann Selzer in the Iowa poll, if this is accurate it implies that Harris might be winning Iowa,” Rachel Maddow gushed.“The View” panelists declared Selzer “always right,” and her track record was billed as “incredibly solid” on CNN.Selzer had egg on her face when the Fox News Decision Desk called Iowa for Trump on Tuesday night with the former president holding a commanding lead.Trump supporters were quick to point out Selzer’s poll was wildly inaccurate.“Congratulations to Donald J.
Trump and J.D.Vance on their victory,” Deputy Political Director Alex Latcham said in a statement.
“After four year...