Des Moines Register poll scrapped after apparent mishap – By Steven Shepard and Elena Schneider (Politico) / Feb 2 2020
The results of the marquee Iowa poll were widely anticipated before Monday’s caucuses.
The widely anticipated Des Moines Register/CNN/Mediacom poll of likely Iowa Democratic caucus-goers was scrapped shortly before it was set to be released Saturday night after complaints from Pete Buttigieg’s campaign about how it was conducted.
The stunning announcement by the media sponsors and West Des Moines-based pollster Selzer & Co. means the results of the historically accurate survey won’t be released before Monday caucuses. The decision left the campaign and political media universe, which has descended on Des Moines, dumbfounded.
Buttigieg’s campaign raised serious concerns about the poll with CNN and the Register, a source familiar with the situation said.
Lis Smith, a senior adviser to Buttigieg’s campaign, confirmed on Twitter that the former South Bend (Ind.) mayor’s campaign had been in touch with the media outlets about the issues and hailed their decision to withhold the results.
“Our campaign received a report from a recipient of the Iowa Poll call, raising concerns that not every candidate was named by the interviewer when asked who they support,” Smith tweeted. “We shared this with the organizations behind the poll, who conducted an internal investigation and determined not to release it. We applaud CNN and the Des Moines Register for their integrity.”
According to two sources familiar with the poll, one interviewer at the call center used for the survey enlarged the font size on their monitor, potentially cutting off some names on the randomized list of candidates — including Buttigieg’s in the interview in question.
The media outlets couldn’t determine how many interviews may have been affected and whether other candidates may have been left off lists read to respondents in the course of conducting the poll.
Continue to article: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/01/des-moines-register-poll-not-released-after-apparent-mishap-110284
