Ben Patinkin
Partner/President
Ben Patinkin has been a lead strategist for Democratic candidates, ballot issue, labor unions and progressive issue advocacy campaigns across the United States since 2002. Over the years, Ben has earned a reputation for going above and beyond time and again on behalf of his clients, providing accurate data that helps them tell the right story to the right audience every step of the way. A graduate of the Riva Training Institute, the premier focus group training and moderation institute in the country, Ben has moderated hundreds of focus groups and has developed as a moderator a unique ability to uncover vital message nuance during these conversations. Ben has a stellar win-loss record on statewide and local ballot initiatives and has led the polling program for Democratic caucuses and progressive polling consortia across the country.
Ben and his wife Sara live in Gig Harbor, Washington with their children Flynn and Anna. An avid skier and outdoor enthusiast, Ben spends as much of his free time as possible outdoors with his kids in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, except on Sundays during football season when he sneaks away to watch his beloved Chicago Bears lose… again and again and again.
Maggie Simich
Partner/Vice President
Maggie Simich has worked at Patinkin Research Strategies since 2014, becoming a Partner with the firm in 2021. She is a leading innovator and team member at PRS, managing research and providing strategic consultation for government institutions, elected officials, labor unions, and nonprofits across the country. Maggie has worked on campaigns to protect and expand voting rights, has worked to elect dozens of candidates at all levels of the ballot, and spearheaded efforts to better understand key electoral subgroups including groundbreaking research amongst rural women, Hispanic voters, college-educated men, blue-collar women, low- turnout Democrats, and ticket-splitting voters.
Maggie volunteers as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for children in foster care and lives in the Portland metro area with her husband and two young children.
Ben Lazarus
Principal
Ben Lazarus has been a mainstay in Democratic and progressive polling and data since entering the industry in 2008. Before joining the PRS team in early 2025, Ben built and grew the opinion research practice at TargetSmart and served as Political Director at the Atlas Project and Vice President at Myers Research. Ben is recognized for his expertise in providing strategic guidance to legislative caucus programs and their aligned independent expenditures and consortia, his work conducting research among Hispanic voters and across the sunbelt states of Arizona, Georgia, and Texas, and his deep well of experience conducting opinion research in the state of New Jersey. Ben has been a pollster for campaigns at every level of the ballot and causes that range from progressive revenue and reproductive freedom, to voting rights, workers’ rights, and public education. His style features fierce pragmatism, centering and respecting the experience of his research subjects, a commitment to empirical rigor, and above all else, being candid and approachable with his clients. Ben is an accomplished public speaker, focus group moderator, and trainer of candidates and operatives who was recognized by his peers as a member of the American Association of Political Consultants 40 Under 40 class of 2022.
Ben graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelors of Arts in political science and a minor in applied statistics. Ben calls Richmond, Virginia home and outside of work enjoys climbing, cooking, guilty-pleasure reality television, and spending as much time as he can with his partner Jessica, his daughter Lucy, his dog Minny, and his cat Bartlet (who is indeed named after the fictional president).
