Texas Trump supporter backs Democrat over medical bills and cancer costs

Cindy Banda voted for Donald Trump in each of his three campaigns, motivated by her opposition to abortion. This year she is considering a Democrat for the first time, because the medical bills that followed her cancer diagnosis have outweighed her stance on the issue. Her story reflects a broader anxiety among voters as healthcare costs climb heading into the November 3 midterm elections.

Banda, 46, is a single mother caring for six children, three of them her own and three she took in after her sister's death. A year ago, surgeons removed her right breast at a Houston cancer center, and she still did not know whether treatment had eliminated the disease. Doctors had told her the cancer would be hard to beat. Banda said she is generally an optimistic person, but the financial strain has been harder to set aside. Her goal, she said, is simple: keep the house, keep the cars and keep the children stable.

Her experience is far from unique. According to a Fox News poll from September, about half of registered voters said healthcare costs were a major problem for them and their families, up from a little more than one-third four years earlier. An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll from the same month found registered voters nearly twice as likely to trust Democrats over Republicans to handle healthcare. With control of Congress at stake, those findings point to a political pressure point that has sapped support for President Trump and the Republican Party, alongside broader concerns about rising prices.

Banda's costs have been significant. She has been on sick leave for a year from her job selling internet service, which has cut the income she needs to support her household. Her monthly expenses, including utilities, mortgage, car payments and groceries, run roughly $7,000, and she has also faced a series of car-payment and other bills while she waits for treatment decisions. Even with insurance through her employer, her surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation have added up to more than $25,000, which she has been paying down. She said she has met her deductible for the year, but the total will reset in January, and she must pay it again.

To cover the gap, Banda has relied on others. The father of her 9-year-old daughter often pays $400 a week for a nanny, and her father has sent money for her appointments. Former high school classmates, whom she had not been close with for decades, raised funds by selling grilled chicken, rice and beans from a roadside tent. Two GoFundMe campaigns raised nearly $30,000, and Banda has rented out her late sister's house while placing her own home in forbearance. She has also returned to work, making door-to-door sales of Spectrum Wi-Fi in McAllen, Texas, a city in the Rio Grande Valley along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Banda said the financial pressure has pushed her to rethink her political loyalties. Her decision to consider voting Democratic, she explained, comes from the reality of the bills in front of her rather than from a change in her views on abortion, which remain unchanged. For a voter who has built her life around that issue, the shift marks a notable break, and it reflects how the cost of care is reshaping choices that once seemed fixed for some Americans.

3Views

Author

Derek Weston

Sports Writer

Derek Weston covers public affairs, politics, business, culture and daily news for Core Memo. The role focuses on verification, context, and clear explanations for readers.

All articles by this author