Daily US Times, Washington: Julián Castro ends his presidential campaign on Thursday after failing to get traction in the large field of Democratic candidates.
The former Obama housing secretary announced the news in a video posted on Twitter.
“I’m so proud of the campaign we’ve run together. We’ve shaped the conversation on so many important issues in this races, stood up for the most vulnerable people and given a voice to those who are often forgotten. But with only a month until the Iowa Caucuses, and given the circumstances of this campaign season, I’ve determined that it simply isn’t our time, so today it’s with a heavy heart and with profound gratitude that I will suspend my campaign for president”, the video said.
The video concluded “¡Ganaremos un día!” — which translates to “We will win one day!”
45-year-old Castro was one of the youngest in the campaign at a moment when the party’s ascendant left wing is demanding generational change. He was the only Latino to run for president this cycle. His campaign started last January with a rally in San Antonio, his hometown and the city he ran as mayor for five years before joining the Obama administration.
Donald Trump has been using inflammatory anti-immigrant rhetoric to Mexico, but as the grandson of a Mexican immigrant, Castro said he recognized the meaning of his candidacy in the face of President Donald Trump’s this behavior and hardline policies on the U.S.-Mexico border.
What is next for Castro is not clear yet. Democrats of his home state Texas had long viewed Castro as their biggest star in waiting and some have urged him to run for governor as the state trends more diverse and liberal.
Castro was being treated as one of the potential big figures of the Democratic Party. He was elected as mayor of the nation’s seventh-largest city at age 34 and was on the shortlist for Hillary Clinton’s running mate in 2016.