Childcare Costs May Sway Voters in Midterm Elections
WHO:
Fast Company - Jenny Escolastico, an Air Force veteran and former human-resources worker, has two children under 5 and lives outside Allentown, Pennsylvania. Her household relies solely on her husband’s income.
Fast Company - Bob Brooks, a retired firefighter and Democratic nominee in Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District, has campaigned on universal prekindergarten, expanded full-day kindergarten, increased Head Start funding, and broader eligibility for federal childcare assistance.
Fast Company - Republican incumbent Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, a father of two children under 3, cosponsored a bill to expand the federal childcare-expense tax credit.
Fast Company - Lerin Hagenbuch of Allentown is a registered Republican who has not decided how to vote; she is a former special education teacher.
Fast Company - Becky Fisher, a Bethlehem preschool teacher earning less than $20 an hour, is undecided about her congressional vote.
Fast Company - The Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy said it spent $60 million supporting Democrats in statehouse, congressional, and gubernatorial races.
ABC News Politics - Parents weighing their votes in the midterm elections are considering rising childcare costs.
WHAT:
Fast Company - Escolastico said full-time childcare would cost more than she would earn working full time, calling it “another rent, another car note.” Her son attends state-funded prekindergarten, but returning to work would require after-school care for him and full-time care for her daughter.
Fast Company - Child Care Aware of America reported that average full-time childcare in the United States exceeded $13,000 in 2025; costs rose faster than inflation between 2020 and 2024.
Fast Company - An AP-NORC poll found about three-quarters of U.S. adults considered childcare costs a “major problem”; 64% supported federal free or low-cost childcare for children too young for public school.
Fast Company - The Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy targeted voters in 12 states with canvassing, advertisements, and mailers.
WHERE:
Fast Company - Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District, north of Philadelphia, is described as hotly contested. About 16% of its voters were undecided in a Franklin and Marshall College poll.
Fast Company - Fisher lives in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; Hagenbuch lives in Allentown.
WHY:
Fast Company - Rising childcare expenses strain household budgets and can make working unaffordable for parents, making the issue relevant to voters.
Fast Company - Pandemic-era closures and quarantines exposed the childcare industry’s financial fragility. After pandemic aid expired, assistance waitlists grew, leaving some low-income households to sideline a parent or forgo necessities.
HOW:
Fast Company - The federal government spent more than $50 billion to support childcare providers, including funding for staff training, higher wages, protective equipment, and assistance for families.
Fast Company - President Joe Biden proposed subsidies that would cap most families’ childcare costs at 7% of household income; Congress narrowly defeated the proposal.
(UPDATED October 21, 2026 16:20 UTC)
Rising childcare costs are shaping voters’ choices in Pennsylvania’s closely contested 7th Congressional District, where about 16% of voters were undecided in a recent poll. Jenny Escolastico, an Air Force veteran and mother of two young children, says full-time care would cost more than she could earn working, calling it “another rent, another car note.” Her son attends state-funded prekindergarten, but returning to work would mean paying for after-school care and care for her daughter. Average full-time childcare in the United States topped $13,000 in 2025, and costs rose faster than inflation from 2020 to 2024. A poll found roughly three-quarters of adults consider childcare costs a major problem, while 64% support federal free or low-cost care for young children. Democratic nominee Bob Brooks backs expanded public programs; Republican incumbent Ryan Mackenzie cosponsored a bill expanding the childcare tax credit.