Mike Carey, a Republican, has represented Ohio in the U.S. House for the 15th District since November 4, 2021, and seeks another term on November 3, 2026. His May 22, 2025 yea gave the One Big Beautiful Bill Act its one-vote House margin, 215 to 214. On July 3, 2025, he cast an aye for the final law. Ohio forfeits $32.6 billion in federal Medicaid dollars over ten years under it, by KFF's estimate.
About Mike Carey
- Full name
- Mike Carey, Republican; listed on the Clerk of the House member roll for Ohio's 15th District
- Current role
- Sits for Ohio's 15th District in the House, with seats on House Administration, the Budget Committee and Ways and Means
- In office since
- Has represented Ohio's 15th District continuously since November 4, 2021
- Seeking
- Re-election, Ohio's 15th District, on the November 3, 2026 general election ballot
- Key votes
- February 25, 2025, yea on H.Con.Res. 14; May 22, 2025, the deciding yea on H.R. 1; July 3, 2025, aye on the final H.R. 1; April 16, 2026, yea on H.Res. 1156 praising the law
What Mike Carey Is Responsible For
- Medicaid cuts. Carey's May 2025 yea was the one-vote margin, and his July aye went to the final law. Ohio's federal Medicaid share drops $32.6 billion in ten years, per KFF. Ohio's 15th District had 227,600 Medicaid enrollees in 2025, 28% of its people.
- Lost coverage. Carey's aye went to a law projected by KFF to leave 340,000 more Ohioans uninsured in 2034. Its Medicaid work rule begins by January 1, 2027. Manatt Health sees Ohio enrollment down 305,000 by 2028.
- Ohio hospitals. Carey's 2025 budget yeas, each the margin, gave the Medicaid committee an $880 billion deficit-reduction quota. Under the law he voted for on July 3, 2025, about $2.16 billion a year of federal Ohio hospital spending sits above the new payment ceilings, KFF estimates. Rural Ohio loses $5.62 billion in federal Medicaid over ten years.
- SNAP. CBPP prices the SNAP cut at $187 billion through 2034 in the law that got Carey's aye. It projects 98,000 Ohioans losing food benefits. Ohio's own SNAP benefit bill, about $150 million in fiscal 2028, its first year, starts October 2027.
- Medicare coverage. Carey's aye went to the first law, KFF notes, to end Medicare for people who qualified: some lawfully present immigrants. The law also freezes two rules easing poor seniors' enrollment in premium aid. Ohio counted 2,535,073 Medicare enrollees in 2024.
- Nursing-home staffing. Carey voted for the law shelving the nursing-home staffing standard until 2034. Ohio's 67,366 nursing-home residents depend on Medicaid as first payer at a 65% rate.
- Social Security's trust fund. Carey voted for a law that Social Security's chief actuary says adds $168.6 billion to program costs over ten years. Insolvency of the retirement fund now arrives in late 2032. Ohio's 15th District had 138,055 beneficiaries in December 2024.
- Child tax credit gaps. Columbia researchers find 49,000 children in Ohio's 15th District, 28%, denied the full child tax credit for low parental pay, once the law Carey voted for took effect. In April 2026 he voted to praise that credit.
- Student loan payments. Carey supplied the one-vote margin for the House bill that set up RAP, the new repayment plan, and the enacted law closed Grad PLUS to new borrowers. CAP puts the added cost for an average Ohio borrower moved off SAVE at $1,982 a year.
- Who gains from the tax cuts. Budget analysts find households in the richest tenth $13,600 a year better off under the law Carey voted for; the poorest lose about $1,200. His April 2025 budget yea, the margin, cleared up to $4.5 trillion in added deficits.
- Household energy costs. The law Carey voted for ends home-energy tax credits and winds down wind and solar credits. CNBC reported an Energy Innovation projection that a typical Ohio home could pay about $190 a year more for energy by 2035.
- Lost jobs. Energy Innovation projects that under the law's energy provisions, "Workers suffer 760,000 lost jobs by 2030." Carey voted aye. As Congress drafted the law, over $7 billion in Ohio clean energy projects were at risk, the Ohio Capital Journal reported.
- Planned Parenthood clinics. Carey voted for a law that stopped Planned Parenthood's Medicaid payments for a year. Planned Parenthood says nearly 30 of its health centers closed in that year. In Columbus, the cutoff led the regional affiliate to cut staff and shut its Franklinton health center, WYSO reported; it closed on Nov. 28, 2025.
- ICE detention money. Carey voted for a law that "directs $170.7 billion toward immigration and border enforcement". NPR reported in March 2026: "nearly 70,000 people are in ICE detention, the highest number in several years".
- Consumer bureau funding. Carey voted for a law that nearly halved how much money the consumer financial watchdog, the CFPB, may draw: its cap fell from 12% of a Federal Reserve benchmark to 6.5%. For fiscal 2025, CRS figures that as about $446 million instead of $823 million.
- Unregistered silencers. Carey voted for a law zeroing out the $200 federal tax on silencers and on rifles and shotguns with short barrels. A court then ruled the repeal knocked out the legal basis for registering them, and on October 9, 2026 the ATF dropped registration.
How This Page on Mike Carey Is Sourced
Every vote on this page carries a link to its official roll call at the Clerk of the House, for instance the May 22, 2025 House passage of H.R. 1. Ohio and 15th District numbers link to KFF's state Medicaid estimates, Social Security Administration district statistics and other named sources. National numbers link to the Congressional Budget Office, KFF, CBPP and similar research, as of the October 27, 2026 update.
Frequently Asked Questions About Mike Carey
What is Mike Carey's record under Trump?
Mike Carey voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in May and July 2025, and his yeas were the margin on the 2025 budget resolution and on the May 22, 2025 House passage. KFF puts Ohio's Medicaid loss at $32.6 billion over a decade. CBPP counts a $187 billion SNAP cut. In April 2026 Carey also voted to praise the law.
Was Mike Carey the deciding vote on the Big Beautiful Bill?
Yes. Mike Carey's yea was one of the 215 that beat 214 nays on May 22, 2025, so without him H.R. 1 would have failed. He was also the margin on both 2025 budget resolution votes, in February and April.
How much federal Medicaid money will Ohio lose because of Mike Carey's vote?
KFF estimates Ohio loses $32.6 billion over ten years under the law Mike Carey voted for. That is 13% of the federal Medicaid funding Ohio had coming. KFF also expects 340,000 more Ohioans without insurance in 2034.
Did Mike Carey vote to cut food stamps?
Yes. Mike Carey cast an aye on July 3, 2025 for a $187 billion SNAP cut, six weeks after his yea decided House passage. CBPP projects 98,000 Ohioans losing benefits. Ohio's new SNAP benefit bill comes to about $150 million for fiscal 2028, the first year it applies.
What does Mike Carey's vote mean for families in Ohio's 15th District?
In Mike Carey's district, Ohio's 15th, 227,600 people were on Medicaid in 2025, including 57,400 expansion adults who come under the work rule once it starts, by January 1, 2027. Columbia researchers count 49,000 district children cut off from the full child tax credit. Social Security pays 138,055 people there, and the law adds $168.6 billion to the program's costs.
Did Mike Carey vote for H.Res. 1156, the 2026 tribute to the Big Beautiful Bill?
Yes. Mike Carey's yea on April 16, 2026 went to H.Res. 1156, adopted by 219 votes to 207, a resolution dubbing the law the "Working Families Tax Cuts." ITEP's analysis shows the poorest fifth of Americans with a slight average tax increase under the law in 2026.
Last updated: 2026-10-27