Campaign Pollster

Is political polling dead? In the campaign world, this is one question comes back to haunt us every election cycle After polls (and the media outlets reporting on them) suggested an inevitable landslide for Hillary Clinton in 2016, Donald Trump’s victory shook the American public to its core and undermined our collective confidence in political polling.

Pollsters shouldn’t be the only members of your team who understand how to build an effective survey for your advocacy or political campaign. Becoming a smart consumer of campaign polling data is a must.  this post will help you ask pollsters thoughtful questions. Good polling will help you utilize your budget efficiently, think strategically about your goals, and assess risks and opportunities in your electoral landscape.

Celinda Lake, a Democratic pollster and president of Lake Research Partners, is one of the top political pollsters and strategists of our time. Celinda Lake weighs in on what happened in 2016 and how Democrats can be thoughtful about polling and strategy in 2018 and beyond.

Originally from West Palm Beach, Florida, Donna Victoria holds an undergraduate and master’s degree in Political Science from the University of Florida. She serves on the Board of Advisors for UF’s graduate degree program in Political Campaigning and Lectures on Political Polling and Survey Research to a variety of audiences.