In Critical Moment for Care Workers, Care in Action Endorses Abigail Spanberger for Governor of Virginia, Announces Care Champion Slate Across the Commonwealth

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, September 5, 2025
CONTACT: Daniela Perez, [email protected]

In Critical Moment for Care Workers, Care in Action Endorses Abigail Spanberger for Governor of Virginia, Announces Care Champion Slate Across the Commonwealth

Richmond, VA – Care in Action, the national policy and advocacy home for over 2.2 million domestic workers, today announced its endorsement of former Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger for Governor of Virginia, alongside a slate of pro-worker and pro-care candidates across the Commonwealth.  These endorsements come at a moment of crisis for Virginia’s 54,236 domestic workers and countless working families, as the Trump Administration moves to gut wage protections, slash Medicaid funding that keeps families and workers afloat, and push cuts to the federal workforce that will devastate Virginia’s economy.

“At this critical moment, the care workforce in Virginia is coming together and making their voices heard, demanding leaders who will defend our progress and expand it, ” said Jenn Stowe, Executive Director of Care in Action. “By endorsing Abigail Spanberger and these pro-care champions, we are standing with candidates who will not only defend the progress we’ve made but push us forward—protecting wages, strengthening Medicaid, and ensuring every Virginia family has access to the care they need.”

The stakes could not be higher. Virginia’s domestic workforce – nannies, housecleaners, and home care workers – forms the foundation of our communities and the state’s economy. Yet these workers remain among the lowest-paid in the nation, with a median annual wage of just $21,889, forcing nearly 60% to rely on public assistance to survive. At the same time, Medicaid sustains nearly 100,000 direct care jobs in Virginia, and demand is projected to soar, with 184,000 additional workers needed by 2032 to meet the needs of aging adults and families.

Instead of investing in solutions, Trump’s Department of Labor has proposed turning back the clock on more than 50 years of worker advocacy. Their rollback would strip away overtime and minimum wage protections from homecare workers, once again allowing agencies to classify professional caregivers as mere “companions” and pay them poverty wages. Paired with looming Medicaid cuts, these attacks would devastate Virginia families and care workers alike. At the very moment when families are already waiting longer, paying more, and struggling harder to find care.

Care in Action’s endorsed candidates will fight to change that. From Spanberger’s commitment to defending Medicaid and reproductive freedom, to champions in the General Assembly who have already advanced the Virginia Domestic Workers Bill of Rights and care policies like paid leave, these leaders understand that a strong care economy is essential for every family in the Commonwealth.

2025 Endorsements in Virginia

In addition to Spanberger for Governor, Care in Action proudly endorses:

Ghazala Hashmi (Lieutenant Governor), Jay Jones (Attorney General), Adele McClure (HD-02), Karen Keys-Gamarra (HD-07), Kathy Tran (HD-18), Michelle Maldonado (HD-20), Elizabeth Guzman (HD-22), Candi Mundon King (HD-23), Briana Sewell (HD-25), May Nivar (HD-57), Stacey Carroll (HD-64), Jessica Anderson (HD-71), Leslie Mehta (HD-73), Debra Gardner, HD-76, Michael Jones (HD-77), Rae Cousins (HD-79), Kimberly Pope Adams (HD-82), Nadarius Clark (HD-84), Marcia Price (HD-85), Jeion Ward (HD-87), Don Scott (HD-88), Kacey Carnegie (HD-89), Kelly Convirs-Fowler (HD-96), and Michael Feggans (HD-97).

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