Trump secures legal win to shift lawsuit against Des Moines Register to Iowa state court

The Des Moines Register published a late-stage Iowa poll that Selzer conducted, which showed his opponent, then-Vice President Kamala Harris, ahead by three points shortly before the 2024 election. Trump ultimately won Iowa by more than 13 points.

By Nicholas Ballasy

Published: October 25, 2025 11:39am

President Donald Trump and his legal team secured a procedural win on Friday as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ordered the removal of his lawsuit against Iowa pollster J. Ann Selzer and The Des Moines Register from federal court and into Iowa state court.

The appellate court granted Trump’s request for a writ of mandamus, a seldom-used tool that intervenes when a lower court has clearly misapplied the law. The ruling required the district court to dismiss the case “without prejudice” so that Trump can refile in state court, according to Fox News.

The Des Moines Register published a late-stage Iowa poll that Selzer conducted, which showed his opponent, then-Vice President Kamala Harris, ahead by three points shortly before the 2024 election. Trump ultimately won Iowa by more than 13 points. His legal team has described the poll as "brazen election interference," arguing it attempted to interfere with the election.

"These defendants have repeatedly engaged in unlawful gamesmanship to avoid State Court, and that ends today," a spokesperson for Trump's legal team said, according to Fox News. "President Trump will continue to hold those who traffic in fake news, lies and smears to account."