Citing Commitment to Lower Cost of Caregiving, Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy PAC Endorses Denise Powell for Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District

WASHINGTON – Today, the Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy PAC (CFFE PAC) announced its endorsement of small business owner and community leader Denise Powell in her bid to represent Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District, a key pickup opportunity for Democrats in what will be one of the most closely watched races in the country.

This endorsement reflects CFFE PAC's commitment to electing candidates who will make life more affordable by tackling the crippling cost of caregiving through investments in affordable child and elder care and paid family and medical leave. Electing a Democratic House majority is an essential first step to passing these policies to reduce the cost of caregiving. CFFE PAC is spending millions across the country to elect Democrats up and down the ballot, including Denise Powell.

“Denise Powell understands that making life more affordable means tackling the costs families face every day, including the rising cost of care,” said Sondra Goldschein, Executive Director of the Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy PAC. “As a working mom, small-business owner, and longtime advocate for Nebraska families, Denise has seen how the cost of child care, health care, groceries, and other necessities can stretch a family budget. She has made addressing those challenges central to her campaign and she will be a champion for Nebraska families in Congress.”

“Everyday I meet families who are struggling just to get by,” said Denise Powell. “As a working mom and member of the ‘sandwich generation,’ it is not lost on me how stressful it can be to find quality, affordable caregiving. In Congress, I will always fight to lower costs and make life easier for Nebraska families. I am honored to have CFFE PAC’s endorsement and look forward to being one of their strongest partners in Washington.”

Denise Powell has spent the past decade organizing and advocating for Nebraska communities. She co-founded Women Who Run Nebraska, an organization that recruits and supports women running for public office across the state, and has advocated for strong public schools, paid sick leave, and access to health care. She has also rallied physicians and patients against a proposed abortion ban and collected thousands of signatures for a ballot measure to protect reproductive health care. Now, as a working mom balancing caring for her children and aging parents, she has made lowering costs for families a central focus of her campaign. In Congress, she will fight for expanding access to affordable, high-quality child care, expanding the Child Tax Credit, lowering health care costs, and increasing access to affordable housing.

Powell’s opponent, Republican Brinker Harding, has taken a different approach to the economic pressures facing working families. As an Omaha City Council member, Harding voted against an ordinance that sought to preserve key provisions of the minimum-wage increase Nebraska voters approved in 2022. Harding also voted against Omaha’s Housing Affordability Action Plan, which included strategies to expand and preserve affordable housing across the city.

Harding has praised the 2025 Republican tax law, which is projected to leave more than 54,000 Nebraskans without health coverage, while 40,000 Nebraskans have already lost access to food assistance over the past year. He has refused to criticize the administration’s tariff policies and expressed support for its actions in Iran, which have dealt a massive economic blow to Nebraska farmers. At a time when Nebraskans are getting squeezed by the high cost of living, Powell is campaigning on proposals she says would lower costs for working families.

Across Nebraska, families are struggling with the high cost of everyday life. From housing and groceries to health care and caregiving, families are feeling squeezed and Denise Powell is running to lower costs and make it easier for Nebraskans to get ahead.

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The Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy PAC works to elect candidates who believe all people should be able to afford to care for themselves and their loved ones. Since 2015, we have run some of the largest electoral programs in battleground states to support candidates that are fighting for policies like paid family and medical leave and quality, affordable child care, elder care and health care. We know how to effectively communicate about high costs and the economy in the way people actually think about it – emphasizing who is committed to lowering costs, and who isn’t. We use this insight to reach voters at the scale needed to have an impact, building support for candidates up and down the ballot who are committed to lowering the cost of caregiving.