Julián Castro drops out of 2020 presidential race
WASHINGTON – Julián Castro, former Housing and Urban Development secretary in the Obama administration, ended his presidential bid Thursday.
Castro, also the former mayor of San Antonio, said “I’ve determined that it simply isn’t our time” in a roughly fourminute-long video and campaign montage released on Twitter.
“It’s with a heavy heart and with profound gratitude that I will suspend my campaign for president,” Castro said, citing the “circumstances of this campaign season” and the upcoming Iowa caucuses.
Castro, 45, formally announced he was running for president on Jan. 12, 2019, in his hometown, San Antonio.
Castro was the only Latino candidate to run for president in 2020. During his campaign announcement, he made statements in English and Spanish and walked onto stage playing Tejano superstar Selena Quintanilla.
Race and immigration were central points to Castro’s campaign. He repeatedly proposed repealing a law that criminalized unauthorized border crossings, which some of his other presidential opponents briefly endorsed.
Throughout the campaign, Castro would pit himself against President Donald Trump, repeatedly slamming the administration and its policies. He was one of the first candidates to call for Trump to be impeached.