Voters care deeply about solutions to the affordable housing and homelessness crisis in America. National media outlets are shining a spotlight on what 2020 presidential candidates have proposed to do to address the crisis. The New York Times released an article on March 3 that compares the candidates’ affordable housing plans. The article, “How the Democratic Candidates Would Tackle the Housing Crisis,” is one of a series that profile the candidates’ stances on issues of importance to voters.
NLIHC president and CEO Diane Yentel is quoted in the article remarking on this unique moment for the movement for affordable, accessible homes: “To the extent that housing has ever been talked about in previous presidential campaigns, it’s almost always been related to middle-class homeownership. This time, it’s almost entirely about the housing needs for the lowest-income renters and people experiencing homelessness, where the solutions are most needed.” The article goes on to describe and contrast the candidates’ proposals.
Over the past few weeks the field of 2020 presidential candidates has winnowed dramatically. But across the whole field, affordable housing and homelessness broke through as a major election issue that candidates felt the need to address. All major candidates released plans to combat the affordable housing crisis—a groundbreaking development for the affordable housing movement.
Our Homes, Our Votes: 2020, NLIHC’s non-partisan candidate and voter engagement project, has tracked what all the candidates have proposed regarding affordable housing and homelessness. To learn more about a candidate’s plans, check out the candidate pages.