Campaign Funds for Childcare: Leveling the Playing Field in US Elections

In 2018, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) ruled that “campaign funds may be used to pay for a candidate’s childcare expenses that are incurred as a direct result of campaign activity” (FEC ruling AO 2018-6). Since this ruling, 39 states have authorized the use of campaign funds for childcare (CFCC) in state and local elections. Opponents of these policy reforms argue that campaign finance should not be used for personal expenses, while proponents of the reforms state that childcare is not a personal expense, but rather an integral part of the campaign just like any other campaign resource or expenditure. Recent work has shown that CFCC reforms are associated with an increase in women’s candidacies in statehouse races (Hardin 2025), and this paper explores further ways that these reforms can increase the diversity pool of candidates. Using federal campaign disbursement data from 2018- 2025, as well as disbursement data from state and local elections in 31 states during the same time period, we argue that CFCC reforms are valuable for breaking down barriers to parents of young children entering politics. Specifically, we claim that 1) candidates use campaign funds for childcare when it is available to them and 2) candidates using campaign funds vary greatly when accounting for partisanship, gender, race, and office level. Our findings show that candidate spending on childcare has increased from 2018-2025 and these reforms are a meaningful structural change that can lead to a more diverse range of candidates seeking public office – specifically women who have young children.