Advocacy resources Archives - Minnesota Housing Partnership (MHP)

2026 Candidate Housing Questionnaire

No matter what part of Minnesota we’re from, having a safe, stable place to come home to is the foundation for our wellbeing. And while too many of us are facing barriers in belonging to a safe home we can afford; we can work together to address the state’s and our neighbor’s housing problems.

Minnesota Housing Partnership (MHP), and Habitat for Humanity of Minnesota (Habitat Minnesota) have invited candidates for the Minnesota House of Representatives and the Minnesota Senate to complete our 2026 Candidate Questionnaire on Housing Issues. All candidates have been invited to complete the questionnaire. The questionnaire elevates housing as a priority to candidates and supports Minnesotans’ knowledge of where their candidates stand on policies that advance housing stability and end homelessness. This questionnaire is not meant to serve as an endorsement of or for any candidate or political party.

Collected responses are posted below. Candidates were asked to limit their responses to each question to 250 words or fewer.

Candidates CLICK HERE to Complete The 2026 Questionnaire

Submit the Candidate Questionnaire on Housing Issues TODAY: https://mhp.sdho.dev/2026questionnaire/

Housing Fact Sheets and Reports:

MHP’s 2026 State Housing Profile: A comprehensive look at housing issues around the state.
County, Congressional District, and Legislative District Profiles. A look at small geographies around the state.
Habitat Minnesota’s 2026 State of Homeownership Affordability & Impact Data
Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies The State of the Nation’s Housing: A comprehensive report on housing trends around the nation.
Urban Institute’s Property Insurance Affordability Report: A look into how rising costs burden mortgage borrowers
Revitalizing Minnesota: A Call for Statewide Land Use and Zoning Reforms

Learn more about MHP and Habitat Minnesota:

Minnesota Housing Partnership (MHP) works to strengthen development capacity and promote policy change, serving communities throughout Minnesota and the Unites States. MHP provides capacity building for Native and rural communities, produces original research, and advocates for public policies that support housing stability and strengthen communities. You can view our most recent research, including reports on housing needs in every district in Minnesota, at mhponline.org.

Habitat for Humanity of Minnesota (Habitat Minnesota) is the statewide support organization working in partnership with the dedicated staff and volunteers of the local Minnesota Habitat offices who are creating and preserving affordable homeownership across the state. Habitat Minnesota provides operational support, sustainable financial resources, and public policy and advocacy work, allowing Habitat offices to better serve their communities. Together, Habitat for Humanity across Minnesota believes affordable housing plays a critical role in strong and stable communities and is dedicated to building a world where everyone has a safe, stable, and affordable place to call home.

Candidate Responses

Name	Legislative Body	Political Party	Legislative District
Jennifer Compeau	House	DFL	01B
Dan Rogers	Senate	DFL	02
Emily Thabes	House	DFL	02B
Andrew Rockhold	House	R	04A
Kim Kotonias McLaughlin	Senate	DFL	07
Erin Ningen	House	DFL	07A
Jen McEwen	Senate	DFL	08
Krystyne Knutson	Senate	DFL	09
Mary Carlson	Senate	DFL	11
Monique Doward	Senate	FI	11
Jack L’Heureux	House	DFL	11B
Aric Putnam	Senate	DFL	14
Brad Hennen	House	R	15A
Glenn Gruenhagen	Senate	R	17
Leah Hanson	House	DFL	18A
Martha Brown	House	DFL	19A
Caitlyn Sanow-Minett	Senate	DFL	21
Jeremy Munson	Senate	R	22
Liz Boldon	Senate	DFL	25
Brad Trahan	House	R	25A
Dan Wilson	House	DFL	26A
Allie Wolf	House	DFL	26B
Charles McConaughay	House	DFL	27B
Gadisa Berkessa	Senate	DFL	31
Chris Ford	Senate	DFL	32
Amanda Matchett	House	DFL	32A
Nat Smith	Senate	DFL	33
Angela Thompson	House	DFL	33A
Jason Heaser	House	DFL	34A
Angela Nelson	Senate	DFL	35
Kari Rehrauer	House	DFL	35B
Kristy Janigo	Senate	DFL	37
Darci Smith	House	DFL	37A
Huldah Momanyi-Hiltsley	House	DFL	38A
Ngone Niang	Senate	Green	39
Aaron Klemz	House	DFL	39A
Amáda Márquez Simula	House	DFL	39B
Rachel Japuntich	Senate	R	40
John Marty	Senate	DFL	40
Aisha Elmquist	House	DFL	40A
William Beck	House	R	41B
Jen Fox	House	DFL	41B
Kyrstin Schuette	House	DFL	43A
Jess Lewis	House	DFL	43B
TJ Hawthorne	House	I	44B
Larry Kraft	House	DFL	46A
Cheryl Youakim	House	DFL	46B
Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger	Senate	DFL	47
Dustin DuFault	Senate	R	49
Kris Babler	Senate	I	49
Krish Subrahmanian	Senate	DFL	49
Michael Howard	House	DFL	51A
Christos Jensen	House	DFL	52A
Todd Podgorski	Senate	R	53
Rick Olson	Senate	DFL	54
Lindsey Port	Senate	DFL	55
Robert Bierman	House	DFL	56A
Andrew Hattaway	House	R	56B
Brian Cohn	House	DFL	57B
Jamie Long	House	DFL	61B
Robert Bushard	Senate	R	64
Dave Pinto	House	DFL	64B
Robyn Gulley	Senate	DFL	65
Rocco	Senate	R	65
Kathleen Bart	Senate	R	66
Jay Xiong	House	DFL	67B

For Housing Advocates

What is my Legislative District?

Find your legislative district here.

Who are my 2026 Legislative candidates?

Find your 2026 Legislative candidates here.

Advocacy Toolkit

Direct outreach is a powerful way to engage with candidates. Download this Advocacy Toolkit to support your candidate engagement.

Contact your Candidates for the MN Legislature

Directly contacting candidates, whether incumbents or challengers, can be a great way to increase the visibility on housing during election season. Find your candidates contact information here.

Housing on the Ballot: Engaging Candidates in 2026

We invite our advocacy partners to join us in elevating housing as a priority this election and to encourage candidates to share where they stand on policies that advance housing stability and end homelessness.

Check out these resources to support your candidate engagement:

August 18 Housing on the Ballot webinar recording
Slides from the webinar
Slides from MN Council of Nonprofits: The Do’s and Don’ts for Nonprofits and Elections
2026 Candidate Housing Questionnaire webpage with:
- Educational Materials
- Advocacy Toolkit
- Candidate responses

Ready to join us in this work connecting with Minnesota State Legislative candidates? Make your Questionnaire Action Commitment here! Whether contacting candidates, writing a blog, or encouraging community members to participate, every action helps elevate housing as a priority issue during the election season. Together, we can ensure housing remains at the forefront of policy conversations so that every Minnesotan has a safe, stable, and affordable place to call home.

Questions? Please reach out to [email protected].

Brian Muhs

August 7, 2026

Blog, Policy

Action Alert, Advocacy resources, General News, Policy Updates, State Policy

How to Move a Strategic Plan from Vision to Coordinated Action

Jenny Jones

March 10, 2026

Community Development

Advocacy resources, Community Development, Event, Greater MN
Our Future Starts at Home Day at the Capitol: March 17
March 17 | Minnesota State Capitol

Join Our Future Starts at Home for a day at the Capitol on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, to advocate directly with lawmakers for the greatest possible funding for housing this session, and for future efforts to secure dedicated revenue for home.

Register Here to Participate!

We will have advocacy opportunities available throughout the day! Join us for session updates and advocacy training, meet with your State Senator and Representative, and attend a hearing. We will meet at the Minnesota State Capitol. You can join a variety of activities throughout the day, including meeting with your lawmakers.
- 8:30 – 10:30 a.m.: Senate Taxes Committee
- 10:45 a.m. – 12:00 pm: Our Future Starts at Home Advocacy Training
- 12:30 – 2:00 pm: Senate Housing and Homelessness Prevention Committee
- 3:00 pm: House Housing Finance & Policy Committee
All day – lawmaker meetings.

We will provide a script, talking points, and training to support your advocacy.

Come when you can, choose a time that works best for you. Questions? Contact Courtney Schaff, at [email protected].
Brian Muhs

March 9, 2026

Policy

Advocacy resources, Event, State Policy
New Resource: Federal Housing Advocacy Toolkit
Congress is drafting the FY26 federal budget, which includes funding for vital housing programs that prevent homelessness and keep families safe at home. Many essential programs are facing cuts, including public housing and rental assistance. The U.S. House has already advanced a bill that makes deep and dangerous cuts to housing programs. Full overview of the federal budget proposals can be found here.

This toolkit was created to make it easier for advocates across the state to speak up for strong federal investments in housing. Inside, you’ll find everything you need to take action—including key talking points, contact information for your members of Congress, sample social media posts, and more. By using a shared message and speaking out together, we can show lawmakers that funding housing is a priority in every community.
- Messaging & Talking Points
- Calls to Action
- Congressional Contact Info
- Content Library (Social Media, LTEs, etc.)
- Storytelling & Messaging Amplification
- Events & Engagement
- Policy & Data Resources
Go to the Toolkit!

Submit a letter to legislators
Jenny Jones

August 5, 2025

Blog, Policy

Advocacy resources, Federal Policy, General News, Greater MN, Rental assistance
Act NOW to Protect Homes and Minnesota Families

Jenny Jones

August 5, 2025

Blog, Policy

Action Alert, Advocacy resources, Federal Policy, General News, Greater MN, Rental assistance
Tell your Legislators: Protect Federal Rental Assistance, Homes, and MN Families

Take Action on Rental Assistance with Easy Form to Contact Your Lawmakers

Minnesotans want to live near their work, send their kids to neighborhood schools, and feel safe at home. More than 100,000 Minnesota households—seniors, families, people with disabilities—rely on federal rental assistance to afford a place to live. Many more Minnesotans qualify for rental assistance but don’t receive it, due to insufficient funding. Now, proposed federal cuts threaten to take away Minnesotans’ ability to stay in their homes, putting lives and local economies at risk.

Congress is drafting their fiscal year (FY) 2026 spending bills, including those that fund vital housing programs that prevent homelessness and keep families safe at home. While the draft spending bill released on July 13 by the House rejects the extreme dismantling of HUD programs proposed by President Trump in his FY26 budget request, many vital programs are facing cuts. For details, see NLIHC’s complete analysis and updated budget chart.

The draft House bill would cut public housing and rental assistance by millions of dollars, leaving thousands of people without safe access to home. Even a 1% reduction to rental assistance would displace about a thousand Minnesota families—pushing more people into homelessness, straining shelters, schools, rural hospitals, and county safety nets, and drive up costs for our communities.

Contact Your Legislator in One Easy Step

Jenny Jones

July 16, 2025

Blog, Policy

Action Alert, Advocacy resources, Federal Policy, Greater MN, Rental assistance
Mid-Session Legislative Update

April 19 • 12:00pm – 1:00pm • Zoom

Thank you for attending our recent event, the Mid-Session Legislative Update. Thank you to our presenters Michael Dahl of HOME Line, and Alysen Nesse of Hylden Advocacy & Law. We were also thankful to be joined by lawmakers Minnesota House Housing Committee Chair Rep. Michael Howard (51A – DFL), and Senate Housing and Homelessness Prevention Committee Chair Sen. Lindsey Port (55 – DFL).

A recording of the event, slide deck, and chat questions are now available.

Brian Muhs

April 19, 2024

Blog, Policy

Advocacy resources, Event, Policy Updates, State Policy
MHP’s Legislative Preview Event

Thank you to those who joined us on February 8th as we previewed Minnesota’s 2024 Legislative Session. Panelists Rep. Esther Agbaje (DFL – 59B), Jeff Hayden, Sen. Karin Housley (R – 33), and Brian McDaniel granted us a wealth of insights and provided some predictions for new session set to kick off this week.

If you enjoyed this event and want to support MHP’s programming of research, advocacy, and community development, please make an individual contribution by clicking this link.

The legislative session preview panel addresses the attendees. From left: Rep. Esther Agbaje (DFL – 59B), Jeff Hayden of Fredrikson & Byron P.A., Sen. Karin Housley (R – 33), Brian McDaniel of Hylden Advocacy & Law, and moderator Libby Murphy of MHP

From left: Melissa Taphorn of the Washington County CDA, Dan Smith of US Bank, and Anne Mavity of MHP.

From left: Beth Gendler of Jewish Community Action, and Paul Williams of PPL.

Brian Muhs

February 8, 2024

Blog, Policy

Advocacy resources, Event
Building for the Future: Competitive Applications for HUD’s Green and Resilient Retrofit Program

On February 6th, MHP hosted a webinar, Building for the Future: Competitive Applications for HUD’s Green and Resilient Retrofit Program to provide information about HUD’s Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP) and explore what makes a successful GRRP application. A recording of the event, and slide deck are now available. See HUD’s recently updated GRRP landing page.

Watch Recording Here

Brian Muhs

February 6, 2024

Blog, Policy

Advocacy resources, Event
Housing Narrative Change Webinar 4: Putting Research into Practice

Thank you for participating in our virtual event on January 29th, Putting Research into Practice. This was the final installment in our four-part narrative change webinar series. All resources relating to the statewide housing narrative change project are available on MHP’s Narrative Change Project webpage.

In this webinar the Housing Narrative Lab provided message guidance and examples of how to use the findings from the research into your policies, campaigns, strategic communications, and content creation.

Download presentation slides.

Brian Muhs

January 29, 2024

Blog, Policy

Advocacy resources, Event