Citing Commitment to Lower Cost of Caregiving, Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy PAC Endorses Troy Jackson for Senate in Maine

Citing Commitment to Lower Cost of Caregiving, Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy PAC Endorses Troy Jackson for Senate in Maine

CFFE PAC Backs Jackson’s Campaign to Defeat Sen. Collins in Maine and Flip Control of the Senate

WASHINGTON – Today, the Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy PAC (CFFE PAC) announced its endorsement of former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson in his bid to represent Maine 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. 

Securing a Democratic Senate majority is an essential first step to passing these policies to reduce the cost of caregiving.

"Maine families deserve a senator who understands that making ends meet starts with making caregiving more affordable," said Sondra Goldschein, Executive Director of the Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy PAC. "Throughout his time in the Maine legislature, Troy Jackson fought to expand access to affordable child care and lower costs for working families. He has been clear that making child care, health care, and other everyday expenses more affordable is key to helping Maine families get ahead. In the Senate, he'll keep fighting for policies that lower the cost of care and strengthen the economic security of working families."

“Mainers know that when child care, elder care, health care and other basic costs keep going up, working families are the ones who pay the price,” said Troy Jackson, candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine. “I’m proud to have fought in the Maine Senate to make child care more affordable and expand access to the services families rely on, and I’ll bring that same fight to the U.S. Senate. I’m honored to have the support of the Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy PAC, and together we’ll work to lower the cost of care, strengthen our economy and make sure every Maine family has a fair shot at getting ahead.”

As president of the Maine Senate, Troy Jackson championed legislation to reduce child care costs, helping create the Maine Child Care Affordability Program to expand child care options and increase wages for child care workers. Jackson has also proposed a plan to provide free child care to Maine families, while helping pass legislation to lower prescription drug prices, establish universal free school meals, and expand rural health care. In the U.S. Senate, Jackson will continue fighting for policies that lower the cost of care, create good-paying jobs, and make it easier for Maine families to get ahead.

In contrast, Sen. Susan Collins has repeatedly supported policies that hurt her constituents before trying to distance herself from the consequences. Most recently, Collins helped draft provisions of the Republican tax law and cast a key vote to advance its passage. The consequences have been severe: over  9,000 Mainers have already lost their health insurance, with that number expected to climb to nearly 50,000, while more than 100,000 Maine families are projected to lose some or all of their SNAP food assistance. Maine families deserve a senator who will fight to lower costs, not make it harder to afford health care and put food on the table.

Across the state, voters support kitchen-table economic solutions that will lower the cost of caregiving. Just 16% of Mainers report a positive view of the economy under the Trump administration, demonstrating the urgency of sending leaders like Troy Jackson to the U.S. Senate to continue championing the needs of working families.

Separate from its electoral work, CFFE PAC’s sister organization, the Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy’s Affordable Maine program focuses on holding elected officials accountable. Backed by a major ad buy, the program has criticized Senator Collins for promising to stand with working families and lower costs while casting vote after vote that neglected her constituents’ needs, urging her to change course.

###

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.