It’s not just gas and groceries. Childcare costs weigh on some voters before the midterm elections

Like so many Americans, Jenny Escolastico has watched wearily as the cost of living has risen, straining her household budget. But as a mother of two children under 5, she faces added pressure that could shape how she votes in November: childcare costs. Escolastico’s household outside Allentown, Pennsylvania, is relying solely on her husband’s income.

She’s staying home with her children, at least in part because she simply can’t afford to work. “What I would be spending on childcare would be more than what I would be making if I were working full time,” said Escolastico, an Air Force veteran who later worked in human resources. “Childcare is another rent, another car note.” Even though her son now attends state-funded prekindergarten, returning to work would still mean finding him after-school care, plus full-time childcare for her daughter.

Those costs are top of mind as Escolastico, who voted for President Donald Trump in 2024, weighs whether to vote Democratic next month. She lives in Pennsylvania’s hotly contested 7th Congressional District, one of a handful that will determine which party controls Congress next year. The midterm elections have been dominated by anxiety over rising prices for gas, groceries and housing, a liability for Trump and his Republican Party.

For millions of parents of young children, childcare is one of the largest strains on the family budget. Both parties are talking about childcare Childcare costs have rose faster than inflation from 2020 to 2024, with the U.S. average for full-time childcare topping $13,000 in 2025, according to Child Care Aware of America.

adults saw the expense of childcare as a “major problem” in the U.S., and 64% supported the federal government providing free- or low-cost childcare for children too young for public school, according to an AP-NORC poll from June 2025. In the 7th District north of Philadelphia, both candidates are making childcare part of their pitch to voters. Like Escolastico, about 16% of the district’s voters were undecided as of September, according to a poll from Franklin and Marshall College.

Democratic nominee Bob Brooks, a retired firefighter, has campaigned on establishing universal prekindergarten, expanding full-day kindergarten, increasing funding for Head Start and making more working families eligible for federal childcare assistance.