Washington State Democrats enjoy a resounding 20-point edge in a generic state legislature ballot, according to a recent Crosscut/Elway poll. Neither President Joe Biden nor Governor Jay Inslee enjoy high approval ratings, but it doesn’t seem to matter. The Republican brand simply seems to be in shambles in this state, and voters are rejecting it and turning to Democratic policymakers to address the top problems they see — which incidentally nearly all relate to the housing crisis.
In other words, Democrats have a tremendous opportunity to seize the issue of housing, hold their majorities in Olympia, and enact ambitious housing legislation that keeps them in voters’ good graces for elections to come. The short legislative session earlier this year saw several bold housing bills, such as Rep. Jessica Batemen’s missing middle bill, rebuffed as Republicans remained in lockstep against proposals and Democrats failed to keep their caucus united when it came to votes on zoning reform, climate planning, or even a modest reform liberalizing backyard cottage rules statewide. But sponsors promise these bills will be back, and, to keep their constituents happy, hesitant Democrats would be wise to support them this time around.
Political prognosticators have been predicting midterms would be bad for Democrats, but recent polling disputes that prediction for Washington State. Democrats enjoy a 54% to 34% advantage in a generic ballot for the state legislature and a 51% to 32% advantage in a generic ballot for Congress, according to the Crosscut/Elway poll. Those are blue wave numbers.
Broadly speaking, 33% of respondents identified economic issues as their top concern; however, within that umbrella category, housing in particular was salient, with 9% singling out housing costs as their top issue, and another 13% pointing to cost of living and inflation. Rising housing costs are a top driver of inflation, and driving down housing costs is the best lever government has to ease inflation pressure.
Next behind economic issues was the problem of homelessness, which was top-rated by 17% of poll respondents — and rising housing costs are driving rising homelessness, so the result provides further evidence of how concerned voters are about housing. Climate and the environment registered with 9% of respondents and represent another area where housing is closely tied to solutions; adding sustainable housing in compact walkable communities is a top way to lower our carbon footprint. Looking at all angles, housing issues are clearly coming to a head.
