WHO WE ARE
Anchor Research is a public opinion research company headquartered in Nashville, TN.
Providing A Strategic Roadmap to Victory
Polling is much more than just determining who is winning or losing a race. At Anchor Research we poll to learn how a particular candidate can win, or how a specific issue can garner support. We provide a strategic road map to victory.
Ward Baker
Ward is a Founding Partner at Anchor Research. Ward is involved with the execution and analysis of all survey research projects. Ward has been intimately involved with hundreds of survey research projects over his career.
Ward Baker is the founder and president of Baker Group Strategies. During the 2020 election cycle, Ward served as senior advisor to Bill Hagerty’s successful U.S. Senate campaign in Tennessee, where Hagerty had a decisive 27-point victory in the general election and won over 50% of the vote in a contested, 15-candidate primary. During the 2018 election cycle, Ward served as senior advisor to Tennessee’s first female Senator, Marsha Blackburn, in her bid for the U.S. Senate; delivering an 11-point victory and winning 92 of Tennessee’s 95 counties.
Prior to founding Baker Group, Ward was executive director of the NRSC, the National Republican Senatorial Committee. As executive director, he was credited with helping Republicans hold the Senate Majority with 52 seats. NRSC Chairman, Senator Roger Wicker said of the 2016 victory, “hiring Ward was one of the best political decisions I’ve ever made.” For his work at the NRSC during the 2016 cycle, The American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC) named Ward the “Campaign Strategist of the Year.”
Ward has also led numerous successful public affairs campaigns at the national, state, and local levels. Most notably, during 2017, Ward worked on public affairs campaigns to help pass historic tax reform.
Additionally, Ward has helped numerous businesses manage communications crises by controlling the narrative through strategically targeted digital marketing campaigns and peer-to-peer messaging contacts. With years of experience, Ward knows what it takes to solve a communications crisis quickly and help businesses better prepare for the future.
Ward and his wife Jennifer have one daughter, Lillian.
Peter Lifson
Peter serves as the Chief Pollster at Anchor Research. Peter is responsible for constructing all survey instruments, ensuring sound methodology, executing the survey, and then providing analysis based on the results. Peter works with clients on strategic recommendations to provide them with a roadmap to victory. Peter has received a RIVA Certificate of Completion and has moderated multiple focus groups for clients.
This past election cycle, Peter served as the Chief Pollster for Ann Wagner’s successful re-election campaign in Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District. Additionally, during the 2024 election cycle, Peter served as one of the lead pollsters for the Tennessee House Republican Caucus and conducted multiple surveys for the Tennessee Senate Republican Caucus. Peter has also served as the Chief Pollster for multiple corporate statewide campaigns.
Peter also serves as the Director of Data & Analytics at Baker Group Strategies. Peter provides in-depth strategic analysis of all polling and research as well as oversees all client data and targeting. He works with clients on strategic recommendations to provide them with a roadmap to victory.
Peter served as the polling director and oversaw all of the data and analytics for Marsha Blackburn’s U.S. Senate campaigns in 2024 and 2018 as well as Bill Hagerty’s U.S. Senate primary campaign in 2020.
Prior to Baker Group Strategies, Peter worked at the NRSC as a Regional Finance Coordinator, where he was part of the team that helped Republicans hold the Senate Majority with 52 seats.
During the 2014 election cycle, Peter worked at Public Opinion Strategies, a national political and public affairs research firm, where he helped provide analysis on research projects for some of the most competitive political campaigns and independent expenditure efforts in the country.
Peter is a graduate of the College of William and Mary. He currently lives in Nashville, TN and grew up in Huntington, NY.