Left: Democrat Olaleye Onikuyide, 28, is running for state representative in Connecticut.Right: Republican Lukas Schubert, 21, is campaigning for reelection as a state representative in Montana.
Both candidates are focusing on a lack of affordable housing in their states.Raquel C.
Zaldívar and Sarah Mosquera for NPR hide caption WEST HARTFORD, Conn.— "My bus is running slightly behind," Olaleye Onikuyide texted ahead of our meeting at a coffee shop on West Hartford's main street.
The 28-year-old Democrat running for Connecticut state representative still made it on time and said he loved riding public transit.Onikuyide also lives with his parents, though he said that's by choice to save money, unlike the many young adults who can't afford to live on their own.Still, as part of a generation that faces record-high housing unaffordability, he started obsessing years ago over how to make it cheaper.Now that the cripplingly high cost of both rent and homes has become an urgent national conversation, he likens it to being a fan of a niche music group before everyone else caught on."All of a sudden, it's blown up and everybody's at the concerts and you're like, 'OK, this is a bit of a crowd here now,'" he said with a broad smile.
Onikuyide and his campaign manager, Karo Shakhnazarov, canvass in West Hartford, Connecticut.Raquel C.
Zaldívar for NPR hide caption Nationwide, housing costs are a top issue for voters in a midterms season laser focused on affordability.A chronic housing shortage has pushed up prices, and the fallout cuts across generations.
Younger people are renting with roommates into their 30s.They're struggling to save for a down payment and wondering whether it even makes sense to buy, g...