Celinda Lake, a prominent pollster and political strategist for Democrats and progressives, is president of Lake Research Partners. Lake's polling and strategic advice helped candidates such as Sen. Jon Tester, Rep. Tim Walz and Gov. Bob Wise defeat incumbent Republicans, and her expertise guided Sen. Mark Begich to become the first Senate candidate in Alaska to oust the incumbent in 50 years. She has focused on female candidates and women's issues, having worked for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Gov. Janet Napolitano and Sen. Debbie Stabenow. Lake worked for the largest independent expenditure campaign to take back the House and has been a key player in efforts by progressive groups such as the AFL-CIO, SEIU, Sierra Club, Planned Parenthood, Human Rights Campaign and EMILY'S List. She recently helped elect Annise Parker, the first openly gay mayor of a major U.S. city. With Republican pollster Kellyanne Conway, Lake co-authored the book "What Women Really Want," which examines how women are changing the U.S. political landscape.

Panel:
What the Voters Really Want: Behind the Polling Numbers

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