Who is… Lis Smith?

Helps lead a network of centrist PACs intervening in Democratic primaries while promoting "Medicare for Americans" as a private-insurer-friendly substitute to block single-payer Medicare for All.

Engineered Buttigieg's 2019 pivot away from single-payer toward "Medicare for All Who Want It" as pharmaceutical and health insurance executives poured money into his presidential bid.

Defended Cuomo administration policies as he pushed Medicaid cuts during the COVID-19 pandemic before state investigators documented her back-channel work helping smear his sexual harassment accusers, getting her dropped by CNN.

Served as chief spokesperson for breakaway New York Senate Democrats who handed chamber control to Republicans, keeping the single-payer New York Health Act bottled up in committee.

Majority Democrats and allied Super PAC The Bench raised over $9.2M from hedge-fund billionaires Stephen and Susan Mandel, LinkedIn billionaire Reid Hoffman, Murdoch heirs, and $500K in dark money.

Recruited into a donor network organized by billionaire advisor Seth London, whose founding strategy memo explicitly rejected socialized medicine in favor of preserving private health insurers.

Advised WelcomePAC's "Deciding to Win" initiative backed by Walmart's Walton family and Michael Bloomberg, the same network that defended Kyrsten Sinema blocking Medicare drug price negotiation.

Paid across her career by campaigns and committees bankrolled by Buttigieg's pharmaceutical donors, Greater New York Hospital Association allies backing Cuomo and the IDC against single-payer, and GOP billionaires Ken Griffin and Daniel Loeb.