As everyone now knows, the 2024 election saw Donald Trump win sweeping victories nationwide, helping Republicans win majorities in both the House and Senate.
Not only did he expand his support in most every state he won in 2016 and 2020, but he also expanded his support in states typically regarded as Democrat strongholds.
And a major newspaper is trying to save face after its longtime pollster attempted this embarrassing election stunt.
Trump’s historic comeback smashed most polls
In the months before Election Day, pollsters conducted hundreds of polls in key states and districts in order to supposedly give voters a glimpse at how things might shake out.
This year, the polls were far closer to reality than in years past, like in 2016 and 2020, when they indicated just days out from Election Day, President-elect Donald Trump was destined to be blown out.
However, many polls were still off by wide margins, claiming that Trump would face tough battles in states he has never had problems winning in the past.
One such poll from the Des Moines Register, for example, claimed that Trump could face a tough race in Iowa, giving Vice President Kamala Harris a 3-point edge.
However, Trump won Iowa on Election Day, securing a substantial 55.8% of the vote compared to Kamala Harris’ 42.6%.
This 16.2-point swing has many political experts demanding answers from the Des Moines Register, which was conducted by left-wing pollster Ann Selzer.
Following the election, the Des Moines Register issued a statement on the matter, telling readers that 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.”
Kamala supporters seized on Selzer’s wildly inaccurate poll after it became public just days before election day, claiming that it could point to a Kamala Harris victory.
After all, former President Barack Obama won Iowa twice, proving that a Democrat can win this small Midwestern state.
But once it became obvious that Donald Trump would win Iowa for the third time by a significant margin, conservative pundits began to roast Selzer, hinting that this poll could forever tarnish her record.
Ann Selzer was not the only pollster to get things wrong, with many pollsters showing Kamala Harris having a significant lead in Wisconsin and Michigan, which both went for Donald Trump.
Many pollsters also failed to show that New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Virginia would become very close races.
Selzer’s shock Iowa poll reveals why many Americans do not trust pollsters
For the most part, polls fairly accurately predicted major trends in the electorate and gave a fair glimpse into how things would shake out.
However, pollsters like Ann Selzer completely missed the mark, with her Iowa poll becoming a punchline for many political pundits.
Moving forward, political scientists will examine Selzer’s poll to ensure that they do not follow in her footsteps.
In all likelihood, Selzer did not do a diligent job of polling the correct people, instead taking data from demographics that were more likely to oppose Donald Trump.
