Citing Commitment to Lower Cost of Caregiving, Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy PAC Endorses Don Leonard for Ohio’s 15th Congressional District

WASHINGTON – Today, the Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy PAC (CFFE PAC) announced its endorsement of educator Don Leonard in his bid to represent Ohio’s 15th 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 has one field office in OH-15 and is spending millions to elect Democrats across the state, including Don Leonard.

“Don Leonard knows what it means to depend on the programs that help families get by,” said Sondra Goldschein, Executive Director of the Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy PAC. “Growing up with a single mother and relying on Medicaid for health care access shaped Don’s understanding of what families need to build a secure future. That experience has stayed with him, and in Congress, he’ll work to ensure Ohio families can afford quality child care, take paid leave when they need it, and care for their loved ones without being forced to choose between caregiving and making ends meet.”

“I got into this fight to take on the corporations and special interests that buy politicians and rig the economy for the powerful,” said Don Leonard. “Working families in Central Ohio are struggling to afford the basics — from groceries and utilities to child care and elder care — while too many are forced to choose between a paycheck and caring for a loved one because they don’t have access to paid family leave. Trade wars and real wars do nothing to bring down prices. In Congress, I’ll fight to make life more affordable for Ohio families. Folks are ready for change.”

Don Leonard has made lowering the cost of caregiving a central part of his campaign for Congress. Raised by a single mother and relying on Medicaid as a child, Leonard has firsthand experience with the programs Ohio families rely on. His campaign calls for making child care more affordable, guaranteeing paid family and medical leave, and expanding support for family caregivers, including Ohioans caring for aging parents and loved ones with disabilities. Leonard has also called for expanding access to affordable health care. His focus on affordability predates his campaign: as an Ohio State educator and researcher, Leonard has studied economic inequality and why millions of working Americans struggle to afford basic necessities, experience that has informed his commitment to lowering costs for Ohio families.

In contrast, Leonard’s opponent, Republican Rep. Mike Carey, voted for the Republican tax law, which made sweeping changes to Medicaid and food assistance programs. The law’s cuts to Medicaid and SNAP could rip health care away from up to 200,000 Ohioans and food assistance from more than 30,000, nearly half of them working families with children. On top of that, nearly 32,000 OH-15 families are set to see their ACA premiums double after Carey and his Republican colleagues failed to intervene. Carey has continued to defend the law even as families in his district face higher health care and everyday costs.

Across the state, Ohio families are struggling with the rising cost of everyday necessities. Thirty-seven percent of Ohio households do not earn enough to afford basic expenses, including 71% of single-female-headed families. Affordability is also weighing heavily on voters' decisions this November: a recent statewide poll found that 41% of Ohio registered voters say their personal finances have gotten worse over the past year. Leonard has made addressing those kitchen-table pressures central to his campaign, calling for more affordable child care, paid family and medical leave, and greater support for family caregivers.

Separate from its electoral work, CFFE PAC’s sister organization, the Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy’s Affordable Ohio program, focused on holding elected officials accountable when they fail to meet the needs of working families and urging them to change course. Affordable Ohio ran a field program in OH-15 that spoke with Ohioans about the high cost of living and the leaders who have failed to make life more affordable.

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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.