A federal appeals court handed President Donald Trump a legal victory on Friday in his lawsuit against Iowa pollster Ann Selzer and the Des Moines Register over a 2024 poll that he claimed constituted “brazen election interference.”
Trump’s case will now land in the Iowa state court instead of federal court. The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled that an Obama-appointed judge had overstepped by denying Trump’s request for the case to be sent to state court. The new ruling was first reported by Fox News.
Trump’s legal team believes the case belongs in state court, whereas the defendants represented by Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression argue it should be litigated in federal court.
The court said the case in district court should be dismissed “without prejudice,” meaning it is temporarily closed and Trump can refile it later.
Free speech advocacy group Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression criticized Friday’s ruling because it did not directly address the facts of the case.
“The Eighth Circuit ruling was focused entirely on a technical point of civil procedure and said nothing about the merits of the case,” FIRE Chief Counsel Bob Corn-Revere said in a statement provided to the Washington Examiner. “This case is every bit as frivolous today as it was yesterday, and that fact will be borne out in whatever forum it is finally resolved.”
The lawsuit stems from an early November 2024 poll that showed then-Vice President Kamala Harris leading Trump by three points in Iowa. The poll turned out to be inaccurate come Election Day.
Trump beat Harris in Iowa by more than 13 points, marking the third time he’d won the state.
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The poll in question differed from a previous poll in which Trump led Harris by four points last September. The Nov. 2 poll was conducted by Selzer and published by the Des Moines Register.
While Trump won the 2024 presidential election by a wide margin, he felt wronged by the poll’s inaccurate findings and proceeded to sue its creators. The lawsuit was initially filed in Iowa state court in December, but it was later moved to federal court. Trump dropped the federal lawsuit in June before refiling in state court hours later. In line with his wishes, the case is moving back to the state level.
