$50 Million Push Aims to Make Child Care a Top Midterm Issue

Advocacy group plans to back Democrats in key congressional races to highlight caregiving costs

Mar. 17, 2026 at 9:18am

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An advocacy group called the Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy plans to spend $50 million to support Democratic candidates in key congressional races, with the goal of making child and elder care a central issue in the upcoming midterm elections. The group hopes to tie the rising costs of caregiving to the broader affordability debate facing many American families.

Why it matters

Child care costs have continued to rise, exceeding what many families pay for housing. This has put increasing pressure on the 'sandwich generation' of middle-aged people caring for both their own children and aging parents. The Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy believes these caregiving costs will be a motivating factor for many voters in the midterm elections.

The details

The advocacy group plans to pour support into Senate races in North Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, Maine and Ohio, as well as House races in Iowa and Pennsylvania. They will also deploy volunteers to talk with voters about caregiving issues. Republicans have begun to back child care as a workforce issue, but their proposals are less ambitious than those offered by Democrats. Before the pandemic, many candidates rarely spoke about child care, but the crisis has highlighted the industry's precarity and necessity.

  • The Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy plans to spend $50 million to back Democrats in the 2026 midterm elections.
  • In 2021, the Biden administration successfully persuaded Congress to pass $39 billion in aid for child care, but later proposals for universal pre-K and expanded subsidies narrowly failed.

The players

Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy

An advocacy group created a decade ago with the goal of expanding support for child and elder care and making these issues more salient in elections.

Sondra Goldschein

The executive director of the Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy and its political action committee.

Joe Biden

The former president who successfully persuaded Congress in 2021 to pass $39 billion in aid for child care.

Donald Trump

The former president who said in a 2024 campaign address that increasing foreign tariffs would 'take care' of the expense of child care, though this plan has not materialized.

National Republican Congressional Committee

The campaign arm of House Republicans, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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What they’re saying

“When child care can cost more than your rent or a mortgage, or you have to sacrifice a paycheck in order to be able to take care of a loved one, that can motivate how people vote.”

— Sondra Goldschein, Executive Director, Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy

What’s next

The Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy plans to pour support for Democrats into key Senate and House races in the 2026 midterm elections, with the goal of making child and elder care a central issue for voters.

The takeaway

The rising costs of child care and caregiving have become a major affordability issue for many American families, and advocacy groups like the Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy are seeking to elevate these concerns as a top priority for voters in the upcoming midterm elections.