The upcoming Des Moines Register-CNN-Mediacom poll of Iowa Democratic caucus-goers was cancelled just before it was supposed to be released Saturday after complaints from a campaign.
Former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s campaign voiced concerns to CNN and the Register about the poll being conducted in error. One interviewer reportedly used a bigger font size on their monitor, and candidate names were potentially cut off, two sources familiar with the poll said according to Politico.
The media outlets were unable to determine how many interviews were affected and decided to scrap the entire poll. This means the results of the poll won’t be released before Monday, when caucuses begin.
“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,” Lis Smith, a Buttigieg campaign senior advisor, 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. (2/2)
— Lis Smith (@Lis_Smith) February 2, 2020
The Register appeared to agree with Buttigieg’s concerns, writing the issue “could have compromised the results of the poll.”
“It appears a candidate’s name was omitted in at least one interview in which the respondent was asked to name their preferred candidate,” according to the publication. (RELATED: Carson King Gets His Own Busch Light Can After Raising More Than $675,000 For An Iowa Children’s Hospital)
“While this appears to be isolated to one surveyor, we cannot confirm that with certainty. Therefore, the partners made the difficult decision to not to move forward with releasing the Iowa Poll.”
CNN also added in a statement Saturday evening that the media outlets weren’t able to determine how much the possible mishap had affected the results.
Statement on the final installment of the CNN/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll: pic.twitter.com/vIRpqMXKfQ
— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) February 2, 2020
The Iowa Poll has been published by The Register for 76 years, the publication added.
“It is imperative whenever an Iowa Poll is released that there is confidence that the data accurately reflects Iowans’ opinions,” The Register reported.