President-elect Donald Trump called for an investigation into Iowa pollster J. Ann Selzer over a pre-election survey that showed Vice President Kamala Harris leading in the deep red state of Iowa. Despite Trump winning Iowa by 13 points, the poll caused controversy and false hope for Democrats. Trump described the poll as possible election fraud and called for an investigation, although survey errors typically don’t violate criminal statutes.
Selzer, in a 19-page review of the poll, expressed puzzlement over the results and identified seven factors that may have contributed to the inaccuracies. The poll showed Harris leading Trump by 3 points, but Selzer couldn’t pinpoint where the poll went wrong. Des Moines Register Executive Editor Carol Hunter stated that no single cause had been identified for the disparity between the poll and the Election Day result.
Trump’s spokesman accused Selzer of trying to misinform the public for Harris’ benefit and Trump’s apparent call for a criminal investigation wasn’t immediately addressed by Selzer. Selzer announced her departure from public opinion polling in a long-planned move, acknowledging the humbling nature of the science of estimation. Despite her history of accuracy, Selzer expressed regret over the inaccurate poll results and the timing of her departure announcement.
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