FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: Friday, October 10, 2025
Contact: press@runforsomething.net
Run for Something Mobilizes Renters To Run for Office
NEW YORK, NY— As the housing crisis prices entire generations out of homeownership and a lack of affordable housing continues to cause skyrocketing rents, Run for Something (RFS) is rallying renters to take matters into their own hands and run for local office to change the system from within. RFS aims to bring at least 10,000 renters into its pipeline in 2026. It is working to empower a group that has been historically underrepresented in government but increasingly defines today’s generation.
“If you are a young person today, the way that you think about and interact with the housing market is completely different than someone who bought their home in the 1980’s and is now sitting on wealth,” said Amanda Litman, president and co-founder of Run for Something. “The only way we can move the dial on this issue is to ensure that the young renters bearing the brunt of this crisis have a seat at the table to help solve it. Our candidates and alumni are already paving the path forward, and we’re here to empower more leaders like them to show up and lead.”
According to a 2022 study, renters make up more than 30% of the U.S. population but hold only 2% to 7% of elected positions across all levels of government nationwide. This gap isn’t because voters don’t support candidates who are renters, but because renters are far less likely to run in the first place. Run for Something is working to change that, and its endorsed candidates this year include renters from across the country seeking to ensure their communities have safe, equitable, and affordable housing. Some of those candidates include:
- Jesse Vogel is a renter running for Columbus City Council, District 7 in Ohio. He is a public interest attorney in Columbus who spent years fighting for tenants at Legal Aid. In 2020, Jesse co-founded the Central Ohio Housing Action Network to help tenants facing eviction during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Kelsea Bond is a renter and community organizer running for Atlanta City Council, District 2 in Georgia. They believe that the government has a responsibility to provide housing, health care, and a quality education as a human right, and Kelsea has centered affordable housing and renters as a key part of their campaign.
- Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler is a renter serving his second term on Cambridge City Council in Massachusetts, who has passed legislation to create hundreds of new affordable homes and whose platform includes strengthening tenant protections and passing a rent stabilization ordinance.
- Willie Burnley Jr. is a community organizer, renter, and Somerville City Council member now running for Somerville mayor in Massachusetts. Having experienced firsthand the challenges of displacement due to rising rent costs, he is a fierce advocate for tenant rights and affordable housing initiatives and successfully championed legislation to address these issues while serving on Somerville’s city council.
In the next few months, Run for Something will continue its efforts to actively recruit and support renters who are ready to step into leadership roles and reshape the policies that affect their communities.
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Run for Something (RFS) recruits and supports young progressive candidates for down-ballot offices. Since its founding, RFS has helped elect nearly 1,500 candidates across the country, including 18 candidates in red-to-blue seats in the 2024 election cycle. Today, RFS has the largest database of any other Democratic organization, with nearly 70,000 people reaching out since November with interest in running for office.