Iowa Judge Dismisses Trump Lawsuit Over 2024 Election Poll

The Old Courthouse in St. Louis, Missouri. File photo.

DES MOINES, Iowa — September 23, 2026

An Iowa judge has dismissed President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the Des Moines Register and pollster J. Ann Selzer over a 2024 election poll, ruling that the publication was protected by the First Amendment. The poll had shown Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris leading Trump in Iowa shortly before the election.

Iowa District Judge Scott Beattie said the lawsuit attempted to use state fraud laws against political speech that receives strong constitutional protection. He also ruled that the claims did not meet the legal requirements for fraud or consumer deception.

Trump filed the lawsuit in December 2024 against Selzer, the Des Moines Register and its parent company. He accused them of misleading the public by publishing a poll that he said inaccurately portrayed the presidential race and damaged his campaign.

The poll, conducted by Selzer's company in late October 2024 and released shortly before Election Day, showed Harris ahead of Trump among likely Iowa voters. Trump ultimately won Iowa with about 56% of the vote, while Harris received about 44%.

Trump's legal team has argued that the poll was deliberately inaccurate and amounted to an unlawful attempt to influence voters. A spokesman for Trump's personal legal team said the president would appeal Wednesday's ruling and continued to accuse the newspaper and its parent company of knowingly publishing a false poll.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which represented Selzer, welcomed the decision. The organization argued that the case improperly sought to impose liability on protected political speech.

Judge Beattie said that even if the court assumed, for purposes of considering the case, that Trump's allegations about the poll being intentionally skewed were true, the claims would still fail under the relevant fraud laws. He found that polling and reporting on election results were not commercial products subject to the consumer fraud theory used in the lawsuit.

The ruling comes as Trump continues legal disputes with news organizations and broadcasters over coverage he objects to. Another federal judge separately heard arguments on Wednesday over Trump's decision to restrict CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House but did not immediately issue a ruling.

Trump's lawsuit is part of a broader series of legal conflicts between the president and media organizations. The cases have raised questions about how far public officials can use existing laws to challenge news coverage and political reporting, while courts continue to weigh those claims against constitutional protections for speech and the press.