Trib Fest:
Julián Castro says he’s unlikely to be Hillary Clinton’s running mate.
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro said Sunday that his gut tells him he will not be Hillary Clinton’s choice of a running mate. And he said he’s not sure he’d say yes if she asked, noting that he has a young family.
“I would have to seriously consider it; it’s not a given I would say, ‘Sure,’” Castro said Sunday in a conversation with Evan Smith, editor-in-chief and CEO of the Texas Tribune, at the close of the online news organization’s annual gathering of politicians and newsmakers at the University of Texas.
But, Castro said, “I don’t fundamentally believe that I am going to be selected.” Why not, Smith asked. “Just a feeling,” Castro said. Castro endorsed Clinton for president Thursday at an exuberant rally in his hometown of San Antonio, before which Clinton said that she would give him a serious look as her running mate if she is the Democratic nominee.
In an hourlong interview with Smith, the former San Antonio mayor showcased his skills as a Clinton supporter and surrogate.
Castro’s support of Clin-
ton was unsurprising. He backed her for president in 2008, and his twin brother, Joaquin, a member of Congress from San Antonio, endorsed her earlier in the year.
“I just felt like it was time. We had the first Democratic debate. The voting is going to start in February,” Castro said of his timing. “If you’re not going to do it now, when are you going to do it?”
Castro said Clinton is the candidate best positioned to keep the Obama coalition together and added, “I think Secretary Clinton will defeat any Republican nominee.”
It will “be close, but she will prevail,” he said.
Castro defended Clinton’s decision to oppose the Trans Pacific Partnership, which she once praised as the “gold standard of trade deals,” even though it is a top priority of the Obama administration and one that he backs as “a strong deal for the United States.”
He said that the House panel conducting the Benghazi probe, before which Clinton will testify Thursday, “has been unveiled as a political witch hunt.”
Castro said that Clinton’s pitch for herself as a progressive who gets things done “works well for folks like me who have had the experience of being mayor.”
He said he liked that Clinton was taking a harder line on gun control than rival Bernie Sanders, the U.S. senator from Vermont, and that he was happy with her approach to Sanders’ signature issue of income inequality.
“Not only am I satisfied, but she is speaking about this in more direct, more descriptive terms in terms of policy than any of the other candidates,” Castro said, citing her support for raising the minimum wage, closing the gender gap in pay and creating tax incentives for profit-sharing by companies.
Castro said that he could comfortably support Sanders for president but that Sanders’ self-identification as a democratic socialist would make his election harder.
Castro did not rule out running for governor of Texas in 2018 but said it is unlikely. Asked by Smith to name some other potential Democratic candidates, he mentioned state Sen. Kirk Watson of Austin and state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer of San Antonio.
Castro said turning Texas blue would require a dramatic increase in voter turnout in a state that ranks at the bottom in participation. He suggested that in view of Republican reluctance to making registering and voting easier, local school boards should embark on efforts to register seniors who are turning 18 and familiarize them with how to vote.
He said he thought the Texas Legislature should meet more often.
“Texas has grown out of this idea that you can just handle all your business in 140 days and that’s that,” he said.