Citing Commitment to Lower Cost of Caregiving, Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy PAC Endorses James Talarico for U.S. Senate

WASHINGTON – Today, the Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy PAC (CFFE PAC) announced its endorsement of Texas state Rep. James Talarico in his bid to represent the Lone Star state in the U.S. Senate, 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 Senate majority is an essential first step to passing these policies to reduce the cost of caregiving. Along with its partners at LCV Victory Fund, CFFE PAC is running field organizing programs in Houston and Dallas to elect James Talarico. CFFE PAC is spending millions of dollars across the country to elect Democrats up and down the ballot, including in Texas.

“James Talarico knows that families cannot get ahead while the cost of care keeps eating up more and more of their paychecks,” said Sondra Goldschein, Executive Director of the Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy PAC. “James has already worked to make child care more affordable in Texas and is running for Senate with a clear commitment to passing paid leave and lowering the cost of child care and elder care. He’s putting the economic security of working families at the center of his campaign and will fight to make it easier for Texans to care for themselves and the people they love.”

James Talarico has made lowering the cost of care a key priority in the Texas Legislature and his campaign for U.S. Senate. As a state representative, Talarico helped advance a property tax exemption for qualifying child care facilities, aimed at reducing costs for providers and strengthening access to care. He has carried that focus into his Senate campaign, calling for universal child care, paid family leave, and permanent expansion of the Child Tax Credit. Talarico has also made lowering health care costs part of his affordability agenda and proposed expanding affordable home- and community-based care for seniors and strengthening the elder care workforce.

In contrast, Talarico’s opponent, Republican Ken Paxton, praised the Republican tax law, which is projected to increase the number of uninsured Texans by roughly 480,000 and put 15 Texas hospitals in danger of shutting down. While Texas families face rising costs and the loss of critical health care support, Paxton has accumulated more than a dozen properties across five states while serving in public office, with his most recent financial disclosure reporting a net worth of between $1 million and $27 million. It couldn’t be clearer who is fighting for Texans and who is looking out for himself.

Across Texas, rising costs are weighing heavily on families and shaping what voters want their leaders to address. A recent statewide poll found that 54% of Texas voters identified jobs and the cost of living as a top concern facing the state. Those pressures are especially acute for families trying to find and afford care: a 2026 statewide analysis found that roughly 441,000 low-income children with working parents live in communities where the need for subsidized child care far outweighs the available supply. Talarico has made addressing those pressures central to his agenda, calling for universal child care, paid family leave, and other measures aimed at lowering costs for working families.

###

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.