Castro gives endorsement to Warren after exiting contest
AUSTIN — Less than a week after he left the presidential race, Julián Castro on Monday endorsed U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren for president, a sign the former San Antonio mayor could be vying to be Warren’s pick for vice president.
“There’s one candidate I see who’s unafraid to fight like hell to make sure America’s promise will be there for everyone,” Castro said in a video in which he endorsed Warren, D-Mass.
Castro, 45, on Monday traveled to New York to campaign with Warren at a rally in Brooklyn.
In the video, Castro is seen knocking on Warren’s door, where she greets him with a big hug and Castro greets her dog Bailey by name like they are old friends.
“You did so many things in this campaign, and it continues to matter,” Warren says as she pours coffee for the two in her kitchen. “It's not just in the past tense. It matters.”
Castro said on social media that he and Warren see eye to eye on key issues that inspired him to run for president in the first place.
“Elizabeth and I share a vision of America where everyone counts,” Castro said on Twitter. “An America where people — not the wealthy or well-connected — are put first. I’m proud to join her in the fight for big, structural change.”
Castro, a former secretary of the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department, ended his campaign for president Thursday amid lagging poll numbers and his struggle to raise money at the same pace as the front-runners in the contest.
While Castro had notable dustups on the campaign trail with other Democrats, including fellow Texan Beto O’Rourke, Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden, he and Warren were downright friendly. That makes their alliance less of a surprise for those who have closely watched the candidates on the campaign trail.
In May, during an interview on MSNBC, Warren was asked about which other candidates running for the Democratic nomination had policy positions she liked.
“Oh, I think Julián Castro,” she said. “His idea around immigration and about changing how we treat people who come here and who are not documented. I think he’s got some really good ideas around this. I am very interested in his work. I admire it.”
Warren later credited Castro for leading the Democratic presidential field with his proposal to repeal a section of federal law that would decriminalize unauthorized border crossings. In October, she also praised him for speaking out against a Las Vegas ordinance that would have criminalized homelessness. That brought corresponding praise from the the Castro campaign directed at Warren for being a “true class act.”
Warren and Castro’s relationship goes back to his work as HUD secretary from 2014 to 2017. During that time, he frequently worked with the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, of which Warren is a member.
When Castro dropped out last week, Warren was one of the first candidates on Twitter to praise him.
“You made this race stronger and you will continue to be a leader in our party and our country for many years to come,” Warren said last week.
Their frequent interactions have prompted many political watchers to speculate about whether Castro could be a potential running mate for Warren if she were the nominee.