Research Interests: Civil Society and Social Movements, Political Psychology, Public Opinion, Social Policy & the Welfare State, State-Society Relations, State & Local Politics, Voter Behavior

Stephanie Ternullo is Assistant Professor of Government. Her research uses multiple methods to explore how social contexts shape Americans’ political behavior. Her first book, How the Heartland Went Red: Why Local Forces Matter in an Age of Nationalized Politics (forthcoming from Princeton University Press), takes up one piece of this, showing how place informs Americans’ partisan attachments through a comparative study of three White, postindustrial cities during the 2020 presidential election. The book argues that we can best understand the reddening of the American Heartland by examining how local contexts have sped up or slowed down White voters’ turn toward the right. In other research, Stephanie has examined how New Deal social policies reshaped political participation across different local contexts; how place reputation shaped gentrification processes in a Chicago neighborhood; and how redistricting into powerful wards in Chicago affects crime and city service provision. Her current research project explores how changing state policies around land-use are reshaping local political engagement in coastal suburbs. Stephanie received her PhD in sociology from the University of Chicago in 2022, and her research has appeared in the American Political Science Review, Journal of Politics, and Social Problems.