Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris on Tuesday announced her selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate for the November election.
Walz, an Army National Guard veteran and retired teacher, has pushed a number of affordable housing initiatives during his two terms as Minnesota’s governor. Democrats are likely to highlight that track record as they face Republican nominee Donald Trump in an election where the housing crisis has emerged as a key issue for voters.
Last year, Walz signed a $1 billion housing omnibus bill that had been passed by the state’s Democratic legislature. It marked the largest single investment in housing in Minnesota’s history.
“As one of the largest costs for families and most foundational human needs, our administration is making a generational investment in housing,” Walz said in a statement at the time. “Housing is central to growing our workforce and ensuring Minnesotans’ health, safety, and financial security.”
(JIM WATSONCHRIS KLEPONIS/AFP via Getty Images)
The package includes $200 million for down payment assistance programs, $200 million for housing infrastructure investments, and other funding for workforce housing and homelessness assistance.
Last month, the down payment assistance program went into effect, including $150 million devoted to helping first-generation homebuyers purchase their first home.
The program offers up to $35,000 for down payment assistance, in the form of a forgivable loan. If the homebuyer remains in their home for 10 years, half the loan is forgiven. After 20 years, the entire loan is forgiven.
The $150 million program is expected to help 4,500 first-generation homebuyers.
The omnibus bill also helped fund a $350 million investment to preserve and build over 4,700 units of housing across Minnesota.
Announced last December, the plan is the largest slate of development projects Minnesota Housing has ever approved.
“As one of the most basic human needs, housing provides a foundation for safety, stability, and economic growth,” Walz said at the time.
Tim Walz could bolster Democratic ticket’s credentials on housing
It’s still early in Harris’ campaign, after she jumped to the top of the ticket when President Joe Biden withdrew from the race on July 21.
But initial signs indicate that Harris plans to run her campaign largely in line with Biden’s messaging and policy proposals on housing affordability, a topic of rising significance to voters as home prices and mortgage rates remain high.
At her first major campaign rally as the presumptive Democratic nominee, Harris pledged to “take on corporate landlords and cap unfair rent increases.”
That suggests she is picking up Biden’s campaign vow to press for federal legislation capping annual rent increases by large landlords at 5% for existing properties.
It’s a bold proposal, as there has never been an attempt at federal rent control. However, some economists warn the plan could exacerbate the housing crisis by discouraging new construction.
(Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
The Biden administration has also proposed various forms of assistance for homebuyers, including a $10,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers. But that plan, like a national rent cap, would require congressional approval.
Now Walz joins the ticket with a track record of actually implementing programs similar to those proposed by the Biden administration, such as Minnesota’s down payment assistance program for first-generation homebuyers.
Economists will debate whether such programs provide effective assistance to homebuyers, or simply fuel higher home prices by subsidizing them for buyers. But for voters who approve of the Biden-Harris housing agenda, Walz will bring a track record of similar policy achievements.
On the other hand, Walz is known for his fairly progressive track record in Minnesota, particularly since Democrats took control of the state’s legislature in 2022. His addition to the ticket might not win over many moderates who are skeptical of the Biden administration’s approach to housing affordability.
In a statement following his selection as Harris’ running mate, the Trump campaign slammed Walz as “a dangerously liberal extremist.”
“By picking Tim Walz as her running mate, Kamala Harris not only bent the knee to the radical left, she doubled down on her dangerously liberal, weak, and failed agenda,” the Trump campaign said.
