This month’s elections sent a clear message: When candidates put reducing the cost of care at the center of their platforms, voters approve.
Democratic candidates won three high-profile races in part by championing a care agenda. In New York City, Zohran Mamdani won his mayoral race on the bold vision of publicly-funded child care for every New Yorker. In New Jersey, Mikie Sherrill secured her gubernatorial win after championing the Child Care for Every Community Act, which caps family costs and raises wages for care workers. And in Virginia, Abigail Spanberger clinched the governor’s mansion on a campaign that named affordable child care and paid family and medical leave as essential to helping families make ends meet.
These victories, in locales and states with varying political demographics, are proof of what many families have known for years: That the United States’ affordability crisis is, at its core, a care crisis.
For a majority of people in the U.S., the “American Dream” no longer rings true. Families across the country are being squeezed by rising costs, from housing to groceries. In alarming numbers, people are skipping meals to save money, paying bills with credit cards and tapping into savings. But one of the biggest and most overlooked pressures is care, including child care, older adult care and disability care. Rising income inequality, recent research shows, is a key predictor of the erosion of democratic institutions, and the “care economy,” which is disproportionately shouldered by women, sits at the heart of this challenge.
According to economist Matthew Nestler, the care economy has become one of the stickiest sources of inflation in the United States. Prices for home and community-based care have increased more than three times the pace of overall inflation since January 2024. In nearly all states, the cost of caring for children has outpaced even housing and health care, placing immense strain on families and the fabric of our democracy.
For working parents — and especially mothers — the impact is devastating. Polling from the Century Foundation shows women are having a harder time than men finding good-quality jobs, largely because of care responsibilities and unaffordable options. Too many families are trapped between impossible choices: Stay home and lose income, or work just to pay for care.
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This isn’t a niche concern or a “women’s issue.” It’s an economic emergency hitting families in every community and income bracket. Just look at the 6.5 million older adults caught in the “middle market,” unable to afford long-term care but ineligible for Medicaid. Voters across the political spectrum are demanding solutions, and the candidates who treat care as foundational to the economy — and not as an individual problem — are winning.
Mamdani’s message to New Yorkers was simple: Care is a public good, not a do-it-yourself job. Across the river, Sherrill made the same case, showing that investing in care supports both families and the economy. In Virginia, where families pay an average of $30,000 a year for two children in child care, Spanberger tapped into bipartisan frustration over waitlists and unlivable costs.
Their victories demonstrate that care resonates because it shapes how families live, work and age. Child care enables parents to participate in the workforce and support their families. Paid leave gives workers and families the financial stability and time to lead healthy, flourishing lives. Home and community-based services allow older adults and people with disabilities to remain connected to their communities and live independently with dignity.
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These incoming leaders are not alone in their vision of publicly-funded care. Just this month, New Mexico became the first state to offer free child care to all residents, regardless of income. Likewise, Connecticut’s new Early Childhood Education Endowment aims to make child care free for families earning under $100,000 and capped at 7% of income for others. After surviving a ballot initiative challenge, Washington will become the first state to provide benefits for home and community-based care for older adults and people with disabilities through the innovative WA Cares program. States like Colorado, California and Rhode Island continue to expand paid leave.
The path forward is clear. Sustained public investment in care policies and care workers isn’t just good governing — it’s good politics. The affordability agenda runs through the issues that hit all of us close to home, and no issue hits closer than who cares for us and our loved ones. We need to raise wages for care workers, expand support so no family pays more than they can afford and ensure care across different stages of life is at the center of any agenda that seeks to address peoples’ cost of living concerns.
As leaders like Mamdani, Sherrill and Spanberger are showing, putting care at the center of our politics is common sense. It’s what voters are asking for, and it’s what the country needs.
