An Iowa judge dismissed former President Donald Trump's lawsuit against The Des Moines Register and pollster J. Ann Selzer. The case challenged a 2024 poll showing Trump trailing Kamala Harris before the election.

Though Trump won Iowa by double digits, the poll galvanized Democrats. The judge ruled the lawsuit could discourage news reporting and debate on public affairs. Lawyers for Selzer and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression hailed the decision as a victory for the First Amendment.

Trump's legal team vowed to appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court. Ms. Selzer, a retired pollster, predicted successes for both parties over four decades and helped publish nearly every Register poll from 1987 to November 2024. She accurately called Trump's 2016 victory over Hillary Clinton and Obama's 2008 Iowa caucus win. The dismissal was with prejudice, preventing refiling.

The plaintiffs, including Republican lawmakers, had accused the poll of being "political theater.".