Citing Commitment to Lower Cost of Caregiving, Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy PAC Endorses Marcy Kaptur for Ohio’s 9th Congressional District

WASHINGTON – Today, the Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy PAC (CFFE PAC) announced its endorsement of U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur in her bid to continue representing Ohio’s 9th Congressional District, a must-hold seat for Democrats in the fight to win a Democratic House majority.

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 a field office in the district and plans to spend millions of dollars across Ohio to elect Democrats up and down the ballot, including Rep. Marcy Kaptur.

“Marcy Kaptur has never lost sight of the people she went to Congress to fight for,” said Sondra Goldschein, Executive Director of the Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy PAC. “For decades, she has stood with the families, workers, and communities of Northwest Ohio and has the record to prove it. From making child care more affordable to protecting access to health care and helping workers take time off when their families need them, Rep. Kaptur has consistently put Ohio families first. We’re proud to stand with her as she fights to keep delivering for the communities she calls home.”

"I am honored to have earned the endorsement of the Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy PAC,” said Rep. Marcy Kaptur. “Caregiving is the backbone of our families and our economy. Yet for too long, the workers providing this essential care have been undervalued and underpaid, while the families who depend on them face soaring costs and limited access. Whether raising young children or caring for aging parents, too many hardworking families are forced to choose between earning a living and caring for their loved ones. When we invest in caregiving, we are strengthening our families, our workforce, and our economy. That’s why I’m fighting to make care more affordable and accessible for hardworking families, while ensuring the workers who provide it receive the support they deserve.”

Marcy Kaptur has spent her career fighting to make care more affordable and give working families greater financial security. She has backed legislation to lower child care costs and expand access to quality care and supported the FAMILY Act, which would establish paid family and medical leave benefits so workers can take time away from work to care for themselves or a loved one. In Northwest Ohio, Kaptur has helped strengthen early childhood programs, most recently helping secure federal funding for Head Start programs serving children and families in Lucas and Erie counties.She has also worked to expand access to health care and lower prescription drug costs for Ohio families.

In contrast, Kaptur’s opponent, Republican Derek Merrin, has backed policies that could make it harder for Ohio families to get by. As a state legislator, Merrin cosponsored a resolution urging Congress to fully repeal the Affordable Care Act and weaken Medicaid. Merrin was also the primary sponsor of legislation that would have reduced annual sick leave for public employees, including school and local government workers. Kaptur has taken a different approach, backing paid family and medical leave and other policies aimed at making health care and caregiving more affordable for working families.

Across Ohio, families continue to face significant pressure from the cost of caregiving. The average cost of child care in the state has reached almost $14,000 per year, or nearly $1,150 each month, consuming approximately 40% of the median income of a single-parent family. Child care costs remain a major concern for families across Ohio, with a 2026 statewide poll finding that 76% of Ohio voters consider finding and affording quality child care a crisis or major problem. Ohio families deserve champions like Marcy Kaptur who are focused on bringing down these everyday costs and making it easier to afford the care Ohio families need.

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-09 that spoke with Ohioans about the high cost of living and the leaders who have failed to make life more affordable.

###

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.