Julián Castro Opens Up About His Failure to Launch
The Dems’ most progressive candidate spoke to GEN about his struggling campaign
On Wednesday night in Atlanta, Americans will be treated to the fifth Democratic presidential primary debate. It will, like the preceding debates, feature a former vice president, six sitting members of Congress, one billionaire, a millionaire tech mogul, and a small-town mayor. But there will be one new and notable absence: Julián Castro.
What’s most surprising about Castro’s absence is how unsurprised so many people are by it, despite the fact that he’s been, by many measures, the most progressive candidate in the field. Like Bernie Sanders, Castro is uncompromising when it comes to his push for single-payer health insurance. His detailed policy plans are on par with Elizabeth Warren’s, proposing a network of interlocking plans to elevate the downtrodden. He was mayor of San Antonio, the seventh most populous city in America; Pete Buttigieg is mayor of the 306th largest. And while Joe Biden gets enormous credit for being Obama’s second-in-command, Castro was Obama’s Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 2014 to 2017.
On issues of racial justice, Castro has often led the way, pushing progressive stances on issues like reparations and border decriminalization. He’s…
