The Scoop
Gannett, the publishing chain that owns the Des Moines Register, has launched an investigation into the apparent leak of Ann Selzer’s bombshell Iowa poll, two people familiar with the matter confirmed to Semafor.
Selzer’s Iowa poll was publicly released by The Des Moines Register/Mediacom on the evening of Nov. 2, making nationwide news and giving Democrats what would turn out to be false hope by showing Kamala Harris leading Donald Trump by three points in the state. (Trump ended up winning Iowa by 13 points.)
But roughly 45 minutes prior to the poll’s public release, a stray tweet predicted the poll’s findings. Its author said that Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a Duke University alumnus, had mentioned the not-yet-released poll during a Duke Democrats meeting that day. (A spokesperson for Pritzker did not respond to an inquiry about the apparent leak.)
The Des Moines Register is legendarily careful with Selzer’s polls, which shape perceptions of crucial early caucuses in both parties, though it also now coordinates with Gannett flagship USA Today on high-profile national news.
Now, Gannett is investigating how Pritzker and possibly other political actors could have learned of the poll early, and is reviewing employees’ emails, one of the sources said.
A Gannett spokesperson declined to comment on “internal matters.”
Know More
The Des Moines Register is also conducting “a thorough review of the Iowa poll” to determine how there was such a wide disparity between its findings and the actual results. Carol Hunter, the publication’s executive editor, wrote in an opinion piece that the newspaper and Selzer would be looking into the poll’s “methodologies and other factors” to determine what “may have impacted the difference.”
In her own article about the poll’s “big miss,” Selzer suggested that perhaps its findings served to “energize and activate Republican voters” ahead of Election Day. Reached by Semafor, she declined further comment Sunday.