Bellarmine Students Approach 2026 Midterms Through Different Paths to Political Engagement
By: BrentLee Threlkeld
As the 2026 midterm elections approach, Bellarmine University students are preparing to vote while navigating political information, evaluating candidates and deciding which issues matter most to them.
For some students, political engagement means following campaigns closely and discussing candidates with friends and family. Others try to limit their exposure to political news while still making an effort to understand their choices before voting.
Kaitlyn Lilley, a sophomore majoring in political science, history, economics and data science, said she approaches the election by researching candidates and taking breaks from political news when it becomes overwhelming. Danica Gorlewski, a junior majoring in political science and history, said she has stayed closely involved with the election through her academic interests and experience working for a political campaign.
Although the two students identify with different political parties, both described voting as an important part of participating in the political process.
Lilley, a registered Republican, said her political identity developed as her views changed. She was originally registered as a Democrat but said she eventually decided the party’s messaging no longer aligned with her beliefs and values. As she prepares to vote in the midterms, Lilley uses candidate websites, podcasts and opportunities to hear directly from candidates. She attended a town hall in her hometown where candidates were invited to speak, although not everyone attended.
“I very much like to look at all of their different platforms. I like to look at their websites,” Lilley said.
Lilley said she also considers how candidates communicate with voters. She said she pays attention to their conduct and whether they explain their policies rather than focusing primarily on criticizing opponents. At the same time, she tries to manage how much political information she consumes.
“I do actually try to take a little bit of break from politics, otherwise it's just overwhelming,” Lilley said.
Gorlewski, a registered Democrat, has taken a more intensive approach to following the election. Over the summer, she worked for a Cincinnati-based political campaign firm and gained experience working with Melissa Strange’s campaign in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District. Her work included researching donors, considering audiences for campaign events and helping determine how to communicate a candidate’s message. The experience also influenced her interest in pursuing future campaign work.
Gorlewski said social media is one of her primary ways of learning about politics. She looks for accounts that fact-check information and explain issues in ways she can understand.
“I do tend to get a lot of my information from social media but I do tend to only get it from like their accounts where I know the people who have fact checked this information,” Gorlewski said.
Lee Remington, an associate professor of political science at Bellarmine University and co-director of the university’s pre-law program, said social media can help political information reach large audiences quickly. However, she cautioned that users can become surrounded by opinions similar to their own.
“Some of the bad parts about it are that we all tend to live in echo chambers now where you're only surrounded on your feed by those that you already agree with anyway,” Remington said.
She said political science research has found evidence that these echo chambers may contribute to greater polarization. Remington also noted that different generations tend to use different social media platforms, which can influence the information they encounter.
The students’ political priorities also reflect their personal experiences and values. For Gorlewski, education is a central concern heading into the midterms. She said her experiences with educators have influenced her life and future goals and she worries about how political decisions affecting education could influence her plans to continue in academia.
“The top issue for me this midterm election is education,” Gorlewski said.
Her political views have also been shaped by the people around her. Gorlewski said growing up among a diverse group of people, including queer friends in high school, encouraged her to consider how political decisions affect others and how she could support them.
Lilley described a different process of developing her political identity. She said she wanted to evaluate political messaging independently and determine which positions aligned with her own values. Her Christian faith also informs her voting decisions, although she said she does not want to impose her religious beliefs on others.
Remington said college can expose students to people with different backgrounds and experiences, potentially influencing their political beliefs. She pointed to research suggesting that people with more education, particularly college experience, tend to become more liberal on average, while emphasizing that these trends do not apply to every student.
“One of those theories is that, um, college students go to college campuses and they're, um, exposed to a lot of different people, um, than perhaps where they were from, the places they were from,” Remington said.
Beyond deciding which candidates to support, both students said they have considered how to fit voting into their schedules as college students living away from home. Gorlewski plans to return home to vote early. She lives about an hour and a half away and intends to make the trip during Halloween weekend. Lilley also expects to be home during early voting but will be at school, about an hour away from home, on Election Day.
Lilley said students may have difficulty staying informed about local candidates, especially when they are balancing classes and other responsibilities.
“It's really hard to have an informed vote when you don't even know the people who you're voting for,” Lilley said.
She also pointed to the challenges of voting while away at college. Depending on where students are registered and the voting options available to them, participating may require additional planning. Gorlewski identified access to reliable political information as another challenge. With so much information available, she said voters need to know where to look and how to evaluate what they find.
Remington said voting procedures vary by state, creating additional challenges for students who attend college outside their state of residence. Requirements for identification, early voting and mail-in ballots differ, meaning students may need to research their home state's rules and deadlines or travel home to vote.
“There's no such thing as a national election. We have 51 separate, 50 plus DC, state elections that add up to a national result,” Remington said.
Remington said these differences can make voting more complicated for college students who have not changed their residency. Students may need to request an absentee ballot, determine when it must be postmarked and make sure they follow their state's requirements. Remington also said social media can help students find information about their voting options.
For Lilley, political participation extends beyond presidential elections and national political debates. She said local races can directly affect residents’ everyday lives, making it important for voters to learn about candidates at every level of government.
“I personally believe that your local election matters more than the big elections because those are the policies that you're actually going to see take effect,” Lilley said.
Remington said midterm elections are important because they determine the makeup of Congress and can influence the balance of power between the legislative and executive branches. She explained that divided government can help provide checks on presidential power.
“Historically, midterm elections have been so important because Americans, as a whole, tend to like divided government,” Remington said.
She said young voters can be influential but have historically had lower turnout than other age groups. When young people participate in large numbers, she said, elected officials have greater incentive to address issues affecting them.
Gorlewski also encouraged students who feel unprepared to participate. She said voters do not need to understand every political issue before making a decision. Instead, they can start by identifying an issue that matters to them and researching candidates’ positions.
“You don't have to know everything about politics to be able to vote,” Gorlewski said.
Remington offered a similar message to students who believe their votes do not matter, arguing that low participation makes it easier for politicians to overlook issues affecting young people, including student debt and health care.
“When 18-to 25-year-olds, though, show up to vote, suddenly, those politicians have to listen to you all,” Remington said.