Housing Policy, Redistribution, & the Renter-Homeowner Divide among Democrats

• In Event: Power and Precarity: The Political Economy of U.S. Housing Policy

Abstract

The intensifying housing crisis in America disproportionately impacts the nation's biggest metropolitan areas. At the same time, the Democratic voting coalition has dominated these metros, as Democratic politicians have increasingly won support from affluent, educated urban and suburban homeowners. These interacting dynamics have produced a wide gulf between Democratic renters and homeowners by housing wealth and economic precarity. Despite the power of shared partisanship in American politics, does this economic divide among Democratic voters translate into differences in economic policy preferences in the coalition? We argue that, indeed, Democratic renters are far more likely than homeowners to favor more aggressive state intervention to mitigate inequality. Specifically, we show that Democratic renters are consistently more likely than homeowners to support the most left-leaning presidential candidates and redistributive housing policies. Democratic renters more intensely prefer public housing investments but are only marginally more supportive of non-housing redistribution. Further, preference differences between renters and homeowners appear more pronounced in counties with higher housing costs, enhancing the plausibility that housing wealth may be causally structuring policy and candidate preferences. To support these claims, we analyze an array of survey data, including data on a real-world ballot proposition from 2020 and original data measuring preference intensity. These findings carry implications for the contemporary politics of metro-area housing, the politics of redistribution within the Democratic Party, and the interaction of economic interests and political identities.

Authors

• Sam Zacher, Yale University

• Amelia Malpas, Harvard University