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Posted On: October 14th 2026, 02:59 pm
On October 5, Assistant Professor Kristen Brock-Petroshius joined a panel of Stony Brook University experts to speak about the importance of the 2026 midterm elections.
At “Midterm Elections: What’s at Stake?” Dr. Brock-Petroshius and colleagues from the School of Communication and Journalism, the Program in Public Health, and the Department of Political Science discussed political psychology, the importance of civic participation, and how recent changes to governmental systems have affected their research disciplines.
"This panel allowed for a robust discussion of the upcoming midterm elections, the health of U.S. democracy, and the importance of civic engagement by considering research and insights across the disciplines of public health, social welfare, political science, and communication science," said Dr. Brock-Petroshius.
Much of her focus was on the increased challenges poor and vulnerable communities are facing heading into the midterms.
“Housing, gas, energy, food, commodities; the cost of everything has increased. Even middle-class people are having a hard time meeting their basic needs,” she said.
“And for poor and working-class people, that often means they’re facing a benefits cliff, where the ability to qualify for SNAP benefits for food, for energy assistance, for housing vouchers, the standards have become harder at a time when more people have the need. So our communities are facing the economic and mental health stress of that.”
At “Midterm Elections: What’s at Stake?” Dr. Brock-Petroshius and colleagues from the School of Communication and Journalism, the Program in Public Health, and the Department of Political Science discussed political psychology, the importance of civic participation, and how recent changes to governmental systems have affected their research disciplines.
"This panel allowed for a robust discussion of the upcoming midterm elections, the health of U.S. democracy, and the importance of civic engagement by considering research and insights across the disciplines of public health, social welfare, political science, and communication science," said Dr. Brock-Petroshius.
Much of her focus was on the increased challenges poor and vulnerable communities are facing heading into the midterms.
“Housing, gas, energy, food, commodities; the cost of everything has increased. Even middle-class people are having a hard time meeting their basic needs,” she said.
“And for poor and working-class people, that often means they’re facing a benefits cliff, where the ability to qualify for SNAP benefits for food, for energy assistance, for housing vouchers, the standards have become harder at a time when more people have the need. So our communities are facing the economic and mental health stress of that.”
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