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Concerns about housing ranked among voters’ top issues according to recently released polling from the progressive Center for Popular Democracy conducted in five battleground states, though voters say they’ve heard little from their elected officials in terms of solutions.
In its swing state housing poll, Center for Popular Democracy and Right to the City Action surveyed voters in Arizona, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada and Pennsylvania with a sample of 500 voters in each state. It found that renters were typically younger, more racially diverse and more progressive than homeowners.
While 83% of homeowners polled were white, people of color made up a larger margin of renters at 37%. People under the age of 35 also made up a larger share of renters at 59%, compared to 13% who were homeowners.
Additionally, a larger share of homeowners than renters said they “definitely” will vote.
When looking at issues, voters heard the most from politicians about issues like abortion and reproductive rights, immigration, jobs and wages and inflation. However, when asked about issues that would improve their personal situation, voters ranked at the top inflation, health care, cost of rent and housing, and jobs and wages.
Renters specifically identified the cost of rent and housing as the issue that would most impact their lives, followed by inflation, jobs and wages, and health care.
While 49% of voters polled said they had seen politicians addressing or talking about housing and the cost of rent, 82% said it would improve their personal situation if lawmakers prioritized the issue.
In Michigan specifically, more than 50% of voters had heard or seen politicians discuss or prioritize housing and rent costs, while well over 75% said addressing these concerns would improve their lives.
When presented with solutions to address housing costs, voters were most likely to support a candidate that supported rent stabilization. While renters said they would be more likely to support a candidate who supported rent stabilization, candidates who supported affordable rental housing also polled high.
Overall 70% of voters polled said they would be somewhat or much more likely to support a candidate who supported limits on annual rent increases to a small amount that cannot be higher than the cost-of-living increases. In that total, 78% of renters, 74% of people ages 18 to 35, and 76% of nonwhite voters said they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who supported these limits on rent increases.
Notably 74% of undecided voters said they would be somewhat or much more likely to support a candidate who supported rent stabilization.
Additionally 67% of voters, 76% of renters and 74% of nonwhite voters said they’d be more likely to support a candidate who supported increasing funding to permanently affordable rental housing. 68% of undecided voters also showed increased potential support for a candidate who supported affordable rental housing.
The polling also found that rent stabilization and government funding for affordable housing, which are typically considered progressive, activist government solutions, remained popular among groups that skew conservative and reject the idea of an activist government.
The poll also asked voters who they planned to vote for in the upcoming election, with 43% of renters going for President Joe Biden while 33% went for former President Donald Trump. Homeowners showed greater support for Trump at 45% while 36% said they would be voting for Biden.
Homeowners also looked more favorably at Trump than renters, with 45% giving him a favorable rating compared to 37% of renters.
Michigan voters were also asked to rate their feelings toward U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) and Republican former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, both of whom are seeking their party’s nomination for U.S. Senate in the August primary.
While Slotkin was received more warmly among homeowners than Rogers, with 33% ranking her very or somewhat favorable, compared to Rogers 17% favorability, both candidates were ranked less favorably by renters. Slotkin’s total favorability dipped to 22% while Rogers’ support dropped to 13%.
U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) | Ken Coleman
During a press conference reviewing the polling results, U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) shared support for rent stabilization and pointed to housing policy as a way for Biden to win voters in the upcoming presidential election.
“We need to speak very concretely to what we will do to bring relief for renters if we get four more years. We also need to speak to how we’re going to increase access to affordable housing, build more affordable housing by repealing the Faircloth amendment and putting money into social housing and providing first time homebuyers with down payment assistance,” Khanna said.
The Faircloth amendment limits the construction of new public housing units, preventing the Department of Housing and Urban Development from funding the construction or operation of new public housing units above what public housing authorities owned, operated or assisted on Oct. 1, 1999.
“I believe that a comprehensive housing agenda — that speaks to rent, that speaks to the difficulty that people have getting into homes and buying homes — will really help us mobilize the communities that we need to win this election,” he said.
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