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2026 Elections: How Governors Plan to Address the Housing Affordability Crisis

Written by Allie Byers
Allie Byers

Written by
Allie Byers
Writer / Reviewer / Expert

Allie Byers is an analyst and communications strategist at Lower, where she writes about mortgage technology, fintech innovation, and the evolving homeownership landscape. She specializes in diving deep into mortgage and homeownership data to give consumers industry insights. She brings 10 years of experience working across fintech, personal finance, and technology, with a focus on translating complex topics into clear, practical insights. At Lower, her work explores mortgage industry trends, operational efficiency, and tech-enabled lending. Previously, she led content and communications efforts for high-growth tech companies and financial brands nationwide. Allie holds a BS in Public Relations from The University of Texas at Austin.
Reviewed by Bennett Leckrone
Bennett Leckrone

Reviewed by
Bennett Leckrone
Writer / Reviewer / Expert

Bennett Leckrone is the editorial manager and an analyst for Lower. He specializes in making complicated mortgage topics accessible for consumers. That includes both in-depth product guides and analysis on what economic moves mean for homebuyers and refinancers. He is also a licensed loan officer in Ohio, NMLS ID 2782574. He was previously a business reporter with a focus on higher education and fintech at BestColleges. In that role, he reported on the development of fintech and AI curriculum, as well as the rapidly changing nature of finance education. He also wrote guides to help business students navigate AI and online education. He also reported on state politics at Maryland Matters, with a focus on how policy affected people and businesses. He holds a bachelor of science in journalism degree from Ohio University.
Data Reviewed by Marina Ota
Marina Ota

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Marina Ota
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Marina Ota is a housing data expert at Lower with more than five years of experience analyzing real estate and housing trends. She specializes in turning complex market data into clear, useful insights that help consumers better understand home prices, affordability, buyer behavior and the broader housing market.
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Updated: October 29 2026 • 6 min read

Voting Booths On Election Day

Housing costs came up in nearly every one of the 36 governor's races in 2026. Now the winners have to turn those campaign promises into policy.

As of November 11, 34 of the 36 races had been called, with Alaska and Kansas still counting votes. Most of the 34 winners, Democrats and Republicans alike, say the same thing: it takes too long and costs too much to build a home.

Their most common answer is faster permitting, which 19 of the 34 winners support. Zoning changes also appear in Democratic and Republican platforms alike.

From there, the parties part ways. Many Democratic winners are targeting corporate landlords, rent-setting software, and large investors that buy homes. Many Republican winners are focused on lowering property taxes.

How Governors Plan to Increase Housing Affordability

We reviewed each winner's housing platform, track record, and recent statements. Table 1, at the end of this article, shows every race, its status, and the winner's key housing proposals, with a source for each.

Two races were still uncalled as of November 11:

  • Alaska: The Associated Press had not called the race. Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins held 49.9% and Republican Bernadette Wilson had 28.8%. Ranked-choice tabulation begins November 18, and a preliminary ranked-choice tally from FairVote showed Kreiss-Tomkins ahead.
  • Kansas: Democrat Cindy Holscher led Republican Ty Masterson by 7,564 votes as of November 9, and the race is under a close-race audit required by state law. The State Board of Canvassers has until December 1 to certify results.

We left both races out of the counts below:

Stacked bar chart of housing themes in 2026 governor winners' platforms by party. Permitting and red-tape cuts lead with 19 winners (14 Democrats, 5 Republicans), followed by zoning reform (16), tenant protections (14, all Democrats) and property tax relief (12, including 8 Republicans).

Figure 1. Housing themes in winners’ platforms, by party (34 called races). Tags assigned from sourced summaries in Table 1.

Cutting Red Tape

Faster approvals are the nearest thing to common ground among this year’s winners: 19 of 34 back faster permitting, including 14 Democrats and five Republicans.

Several winners named deadlines. California Governor-elect Xavier Becerra wants state reviews of housing projects to end in a final decision on a fixed schedule, and his plan offers 180 days as one example. New Mexico Governor-elect Deb Haaland has called for a time limit on housing approvals. In Oregon, Governor Tina Kotek’s second-term agenda includes enforceable statewide permitting deadlines, part of the platform she rolled out in September.

Some incumbents can point to what they’ve already done. New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte signed a budget that gives state agencies 60 days to act on housing permits. Because that rule is already in place, it’s part of her record rather than a new pledge.

Environmental review is also a target. New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s “Let Them Build” agenda proposed exempting some housing projects from the state’s environmental review law, known as SEQRA. In Vermont, Governor Phil Scott has urged lawmakers to ease development rules, with wetlands as his latest focus.

Republican winners tend to frame regulation as a cost that buyers end up paying. Tennessee Governor-elect Marsha Blackburn said permitting and regulation account for 27.5% of what it costs to build a new home. Florida Governor-elect Byron Donalds estimates permitting raises home construction costs by 20% to 30% and wants to shorten approval timelines.

Governors also disagree on how much pressure to put on local governments. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s BUILD plan would have legalized duplexes, triplexes, and accessory dwelling units on most residential lots statewide, but it stalled after pushback from local officials. Minnesota Governor-elect Amy Klobuchar would rather reward communities that build more through a pro-housing incentive than force upzoning, though she acknowledged the state may eventually need to require more multifamily housing.

Some of the most consequential permitting changes are already on the books:

  • Maryland: Under the Housing Certainty Act, which Governor Wes Moore signed in May, local governments must evaluate a project under the rules in effect on the date its application was filed.
  • Connecticut: HB 8002 allows housing to be built as of right in commercial and transit districts.
  • Idaho: SB 1352, which Governor Brad Little signed March 31, lowers minimum lot sizes for qualifying starter-home developments.

Republicans Target Property Tax Relief, Democrats Call for Tenant Protections

Grouped bar chart comparing the share of Democratic and Republican winners backing housing themes. 67% of Republicans back property tax relief versus 18% of Democrats; 64% of Democrats back tenant protections and 36% back investor limits, versus 0% of Republicans for each.

Figure 2. Share of each party’s winners backing selected themes. Same tagging as Figure 1; Democrats n=22, Republicans n=12.

The widest gap between the parties is over who should get relief. Eight of the 12 Republican winners, or 67%, put property tax relief first. Among Democratic winners, 64% support tenant protections, while no Republican winner does.

Republican tax plans focus mostly on seniors:

  • Alabama: Governor-elect Tommy Tuberville’s policy playbook opens with a plan to freeze property tax increases on seniors’ homes.
  • Oklahoma: Governor-elect Mike Mazzei would end homestead property taxes for seniors and veterans.
  • South Carolina: Governor-elect Alan Wilson would automatically enroll eligible seniors in the homestead exemption.
  • Tennessee: Blackburn said a tax cap for seniors has come up in discussions, and she described tax abatements for first-time buyers as one idea under consideration.

In Florida, Governor-elect Byron Donalds plans to use a state tax commission to seek repeal of homestead property taxes. If full repeal proves unaffordable, he’d direct relief to seniors and working families instead. Arkansas has already acted: homeowners there now qualify for a $675 homestead tax credit, up from $600.

Several Democrats who flipped Republican-held governor’s offices offered similar relief:

  • Georgia: Governor-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms would turn the state’s homeowner tax relief grant into an annual benefit, increase it from $18,000 to $25,000 of assessed value, and repeal the state’s 2.25% tax on homeowners insurance premiums. Her campaign puts the typical homeowner’s savings at roughly $885 a year.
  • Ohio: Governor-elect Amy Acton would lift the income cap for Ohio’s homestead exemption from $41,000 to $50,000. She’d also send rebates of up to $1,000 to homeowners whose tax bills climb more than 4% in a year.
  • Texas: Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa has set a goal of eliminating residential property taxes.

Kansas: Still Too Close to Call

Property taxes were the central issue on both sides of the still-uncalled Kansas race. State Sen. Cindy Holscher would cut the residential assessment rate from 11.5% to 9%. Senate President Ty Masterson wants a constitutional amendment to cap property taxes, along with relief for seniors and lower regulatory costs for homebuilders.

Protecting Renters From Algorithms and Fees

Four Democratic winners would ban algorithmic rent-setting tools: Weiser, Klobuchar, Ford, and Haaland. In Texas, Hinojosa has pledged to hold landlords accountable when they use AI pricing tools to overcharge renters.

Others want to lower renters’ upfront costs. Shapiro would cap application fees and seal eviction records for tenants who weren’t evicted. Ford would limit security deposits to one month’s rent, down from the three months Nevada currently allows.

Rent control remains largely off the table. Healey opposed Massachusetts’ rent control ballot question, and Ford’s plan doesn’t include it. Becerra is the exception, claiming he’d support California communities that adopt local rent control.

Banning Institutional Investors

Eight Democratic winners would put limits on institutional homebuyers. No Republican winner has proposed doing so. Their approaches differ:

  • First-look windows: Michigan Governor-elect Jocelyn Benson would keep private equity firms and large investors from buying a home during its first 100 days on the market.
  • Purchase caps: Nevada Governor-elect Aaron Ford wants to restrict Wall Street purchases of single-family homes. His plan doesn’t name a number, though he has said a 100-unit cap would be a good starting point. In Texas, Hinojosa wrote a 2025 bill that would have barred institutional investors from buying more than 10 single-family homes during a state housing shortage.
  • Disclosure: Becerra would require ownership disclosure for bulk home purchases and create public registries of institutional landlords.

Mobile home parks are a related concern. Maine Governor-elect Hannah Pingree has pledged to confront out-of-state private equity firms that buy the state’s mobile home parks. Klobuchar wants to protect manufactured homeowners from unfair treatment by corporate owners, and Haaland’s plan promises protections for people living in New Mexico’s manufactured home communities.

These proposals would operate alongside federal law. Starting January 7, 2027, the ROAD Act limits additional single-family home purchases by investors that control 350 or more of them. State caps and first-look windows could also apply to smaller investors that fall below the federal threshold.

What this means for buyers depends on where they live. In markets where big investors are active, first-look windows and caps could improve owner-occupants’ odds on entry-level homes. Where those investors have a small footprint, the rules may change little. Vermont is one example: a state review of more than 20,000 home sales turned up little evidence of large-scale corporate buying.

Bar chart of housing-unit targets named by Democratic winners: Pennsylvania 450,000 by 2035, Massachusetts 222,000 by 2035, Minnesota 100,000+, Colorado 40,000 and Rhode Island 20,000 over 8 years.

Figure 3. Housing-unit targets named by winners. Sources: PA, MA, MN, CO, and RI.

Down Payment Assistance and Housing Funds

Several winners want to commit major sums to housing, though most of that money hasn’t been approved:

  • Pennsylvania: Governor Josh Shapiro’s budget calls for a $1 billion critical infrastructure fund financed with general obligation bonds. Housing would receive most of the money, but the fund would also pay for energy projects and school buildings, and the legislature has to approve the borrowing.
  • Rhode Island: Governor-elect Helena Foulkes’ Rhode Home program would put revenue from the state’s tax on millionaires into a revolving fund to build 20,000 units over eight years, with roughly $1 billion in total capacity. Whether voters get a say is up to the General Assembly.
  • Maine: Pingree has pledged $100 million a year for building and preserving homes.
  • New York: Hochul proposed $250 million to accelerate affordable housing and another $100 million for manufactured housing.

Ten winners promise down-payment aid, with some aimed at particular groups of buyers:

  • Colorado: Governor-elect Phil Weiser would widen down payment help for first-time buyers and essential workers, such as teachers, nurses, and first responders.
  • Nevada: Ford would offer down payment aid through refundable tax credits for first-time buyers, teachers, first responders, military families, and veterans.
  • Iowa: Governor-elect Rob Sand wants first-time buyers to get interest-free down payment assistance. The state’s current help is structured as a second mortgage that carries interest.
  • Michigan: Benson has proposed tax credits to help with down payments.

Help with a down payment can make the upfront cost of a home more manageable, but it doesn’t create more housing. New programs also need funding and time to launch, so buyers in the market now should check what their state already offers.

Building Manufactured Homes

Factory-built housing shows up in 10 winners’ platforms as a way to add homes faster and for less money:

Federal policy is moving the same way, with a task force set up to expand factory-built housing.

Insurance Costs in the South

Several Southern winners linked affordability to homeowners insurance:

  • Alabama: Tuberville would grow the Strengthen Alabama Homes fortified roof program, make sure insurers honor required discounts, and bring more insurers into the state, especially along the coast.
  • Georgia: Bottoms would repeal the 2.25% tax on homeowners insurance premiums and require insurers to pass the savings on to customers.
  • Florida: Donalds would pursue tort reform and expand home-hardening programs for properties built before 1992, the year Hurricane Andrew hit South Florida.
  • South Carolina: Wilson wants the state Department of Insurance to use its existing authority to audit rate increases regularly and make the results public. His plan would also require quarterly updates to the governor’s office and annual public reports on major carriers.

Because premiums also reflect disaster risk and rebuilding costs, state policy changes may not bring quick savings.

What to Watch in 2027

The first real test arrives in January, when most new governors are sworn in and legislatures convene. Here’s what to watch:

  • Final results: Alaska begins ranked-choice tabulation November 18, and Kansas has until December 1 to certify its results.
  • Divided government: In Vermont, Scott will face a Democratic supermajority of 22 Senate seats and 112 House seats, enough to override his vetoes. In Illinois, Pritzker’s BUILD plan has already stalled once.
  • Ballot and constitutional routes: Donalds intends to pursue property tax repeal through Florida’s Tax and Budget Reform Commission, which meets next year. Florida voters approved Amendment 3, which expands the homestead exemption, with about 62% of the vote. Rhode Island lawmakers would decide whether Foulkes’ housing fund goes to voters, and Masterson’s Kansas tax cap would need a constitutional amendment.
  • Day-one executive orders: Becerra has pledged to declare a housing state of emergency on his first day in office. Weiser plans to name a Chief Housing Officer and sign an executive order on day one.
  • Federal action: Democrats will hold both chambers of Congress, but housing bills still face the filibuster and a possible presidential veto. The ROAD Act’s restriction on large investors takes effect January 7, 2027.

Methodology

We identified winners using MultiState’s tracker, last updated November 4, and checked them against AP race calls reported by local news outlets through November 9, 2026. MultiState lists Alaska as a Democratic pickup, but the AP had not called that race, so we treat it as uncalled. No results have been certified.

Our housing summaries rely first on campaign websites, then on state and local news coverage. For incumbents without a new housing plan, we summarized their stated next-term priorities and their records. Policies already signed into law are labeled as law rather than proposals.

Theme tags reflect editorial judgment. A winner counts toward a theme only with a specific proposal or an enacted policy.

Appendix: All 36 Races and Housing Proposals

Rows highlighted in yellow are races that had not been called as of November 11. Each Source link opens the campaign page or news story behind the summary.

State Winner (party) Status Key housing proposals Source
Alabama Tommy Tuberville (R) Called Senior property-tax freeze; expand fortified-roof program; recruit insurers Link
Alaska Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins (D), leading Not called Open state land for housing; ease modular/manufactured rules; tax nonresident "dark homes"; permitting task force Link
Alaska Bernadette Wilson (R) Not called No plan; blames regulation and permitting; roll back wood-stove rules Link
Arizona Katie Hobbs (D, inc.) Called Housing Acceleration Fund; $20M Affordability Fund via $3.50/night vacation-rental tax Link
Arkansas Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R, inc.) Called No plan; homestead credit raised $600 to $675 (legislature-led) Link
California Xavier Becerra (D) Called Housing-emergency order; finance ~40,000 stalled units; transit upzoning; 180-day reviews; investor registry; local rent control Link
Colorado Phil Weiser (D) Called 40,000 attainable homes; Chief Housing Officer; algorithmic-rent ban; essential-worker down payment aid Link
Connecticut Ned Lamont (D, inc.) Called As-of-right housing in commercial/transit areas; office and mill conversions; just-cause eviction (SB 257) Link
Florida Byron Donalds (R) Called Cut, then repeal, homestead property tax; faster permits; home hardening and tort reform Link
Georgia Keisha Lance Bottoms (D), flip Called State housing trust fund; corporate-landlord crackdown; ~$840/yr homeowner tax and insurance relief Link
Hawaii Josh Green (D, inc.) Called Rail-corridor TOD villages; abandoned-home repair loans; RISE infrastructure bonds; kauhale Link
Idaho Brad Little (R, inc.) Called Runs on record: permitting reform; SB 1352 starter-home lots Link
Illinois JB Pritzker (D, inc.) Called BUILD: legalize duplexes, triplexes and ADUs; statewide permit timelines; parking reform Link
Iowa Rob Sand (D), flip Called Red-tape cuts for duplexes/ADUs; interest-free down payment aid; rural housing task force Link
Kansas Cindy Holscher (D), leading Not called Assessment rate 11.5% to 9%; wider homestead exemption; cap rent late fees Link
Kansas Ty Masterson (R) Not called Constitutional property-tax cap; senior freeze; lower building-regulation costs Link
Maine Hannah Pingree (D) Called $100M/yr for housing; double production pace; curb PE buying mobile-home parks Link
Maryland Wes Moore (D, inc.) Called Transit & Housing Opportunity Act (state land near rail); Housing Certainty Act; 7,000+ homes Link
Massachusetts Maura Healey (D, inc.) Called 222,000 units by 2035; opposed rent control; surplus state land; office-conversion credit Link
Michigan Jocelyn Benson (D) Called Red-tape cuts; down payment credit; 100-day ban on investor purchases; short-term-rental tax Link
Minnesota Amy Klobuchar (D) Called 100,000+ homes; permanent housing tax credit; pro-housing incentive; algorithmic-rent ban Link
Nebraska Jim Pillen (R, inc.) Called No plan; property tax focus; signed LB 1114 infrastructure districts Link
Nevada Aaron Ford (D), flip Called Investor purchase caps; AI-rent ban; one-month deposit cap; develop 10,000 acres; down payment credits Link
New Hampshire Kelly Ayotte (R, inc.) Called Record: multifamily in commercial zones, ADUs, 60-day permits; $1.7M federal to housing fund Link
New Mexico Deb Haaland (D) Called Rent-fixing ban; Renter's Bill of Rights; permitting shot clock; tax cut on building materials Link
New York Kathy Hochul (D, inc.) Called "Let Them Build" SEQRA exemptions; $250M + $100M manufactured housing; SCRIE/DRIE expansion Link
Ohio Amy Acton (D), flip Called Homestead income limit $41K to $50K; $1,000 circuit-breaker rebate; tax-lien limits Link
Oklahoma Mike Mazzei (R) Called Eliminate homestead property tax for seniors 65+ and veterans Link
Oregon Tina Kotek (D, inc.) Called Statewide permit timelines; starter homes; down payment aid Link
Pennsylvania Josh Shapiro (D, inc.) Called 450,000 units needed by 2035; $1B GO bond; cap application fees; seal eviction records Link
Rhode Island Helena Foulkes (D) Called Rhode Home revolving fund; 20,000 units in 8 years; modular manufacturing Link
South Carolina Alan Wilson (R) Called Auto-enroll seniors in homestead exemption; change rental tax rate (Act 388); insurance audits Link
South Dakota Larry Rhoden (R, inc.) Called Local sales-tax option to replace property tax; redirect housing fund Link
Tennessee Marsha Blackburn (R) Called Senior tax caps; first-time buyer abatements; public land for workforce housing; permitting cuts Link
Texas Gina Hinojosa (D), flip Called Limit institutional buyers; algorithmic-rent crackdown; goal to eliminate residential property tax Link
Vermont Phil Scott (R, inc.) Called Loosen Act 250, permitting and wetlands rules; VHIP and CHIP programs Link
Wisconsin David Crowley (D) Called Zoning flexibility; adaptive reuse; eviction prevention; data centers pay grid costs Link
Wyoming Eric Barlow (R) Called (media) No housing platform Link

Status reflects AP race calls reported through November 9, 2026; no results have been certified. “inc.” = incumbent; “flip” = Democratic pickup of a Republican-held office.

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