“[Abortion] has sparked voter interest,” Ann Selzer stated on MSNBC.
The Iowa pollster, who recently caught the attention of pundits and politicians with a poll indicating Kamala Harris leading Donald Trump in the state, noted that this finding reflects a contemporary trend: abortion has mobilized Democrats.
J. Ann Selzer, renowned for her accurate pre-election forecasts in Iowa, mentioned on MSNBC’s The Weekend that while she didn’t have as much data as she would prefer regarding the reasons behind this trend—referring to the Des Moines Register poll that showed Harris ahead of Trump by 3 percentage points—the results aligned with the insights from the newspaper’s political reporters throughout the election cycle.
“Our consensus among the reporters covering this beat is that the abortion ban implemented last summer has galvanized voter engagement,” Selzer remarked, as reported by the Daily Mail. “I believe it has motivated people to participate in voting.”
Described as the “best pollster in politics,” Selzer acknowledged that voters could still shift toward Trump on Election Day but noted that she has observed fewer Trump signs compared to 2020.
The poll received backlash from Republicans, including Trump, who claimed, “All polls, except for one heavily skewed towards the Democrats by a Trump hater who got it completely wrong last time, have me up, BY A LOT,” on Truth Social. “I LOVE THE FARMERS, AND THEY LOVE ME.”
An Emerson College poll did show Trump leading by 10 points in Iowa, while a New York Times/Siena poll indicated a deadlock between the two candidates across several swing states, suggesting a historically close election with potential surprises.