The Anti-Trump: Candidate Julián Castro Offers a Vision of a Diverse, Inclusive America
For a person of any other ethnicity, in any other political climate, being the grandson of immigrants to the United States would be utterly unremarkable. But for a Mexican-American seeking the Democratic nomination for president in the age of Donald Trump, it is the inescapable heart of Julián Castro’s political identity as a candidate.
In ordinary times, should he win the nomination, Castro’s status as the first Latino major-party candidate might perhaps feel less historically profound than Barack Obama’s as first African-American. While the racism Latinos face is undeniable, the history of oppression is perhaps less stark. Were the incumbent anyone but Donald Trump, some white voters might allow themselves a few quiet doubts about a Hispanic candidate’s true loyalties or status as a “real American” without feeling the need to scrutinize their own racial attitudes too closely.
But in 2020, running against a president whose political brand has been rooted in exclusion and immigrant-bashing from the start, Julián Castro is the anti-Trump, whose candidacy could offer nothing less than an opportunity to reaffirm what it means to be American.
With fifteen to twenty potential Democratic candidates lining up, Castro will have his work cut out for him to secure the nomination. At 44 he will be among the youngest candidates and is seen by many as inexperienced, having never held national or even statewide elected office. The fact is, Castro is not well known outside Texas, and his early poll numbers have been low.
Castro counters that his record as three-term mayor of San Antonio and his service in Barack Obama’s cabinet demonstrate an ability to get things done. While he touts a strong progressive vision for the future of the country, most of his actual policy positions, to the extent that they’ve crystallized this early in the campaign, are safely within the left-mainstream of today’s Democratic Party — Medicare for all, LGBTQ rights, a minimum wage increase, a Green New Deal, rejoining the Paris Climate Accord, immigration reform with an earned pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, and a “re-imagined justice system.” His signature platform proposal so far has been to make the full-day pre-K program he introduced in San Antonio a national one. While worthy, this hardly seems a foundation on which to build a distinctive national campaign.
But the election cycle is just beginning, and Castro is starting to make the media rounds. On television he is well-spoken and projects a relaxed but energetic confidence, and his appearances on Meet the Press and the Jimmy Kimmel and Van Jones shows have been well received.
Even while presenting himself as a candidate for all Americans — his campaign slogan is “One Nation. One Destiny” — Castro doesn’t hesitate to put his ethnicity front and center. When he couldn’t enter the accent in Julián in an online filing system for his candidacy, his campaign manager promptly tweeted a photo of the form printed out with the accent added by hand. The same accent appears in prominent color in his campaign logo. And parts of his announcement speech, delivered in the San Antonio neighborhood where he grew up, were given in Spanish. That bustling city, he says, “represents the diverse future of America.”
If nominated, could Castro beat Donald Trump in the general election? The electability argument hinges on his ability to drive turnout, especially within the Latino community. Historically, voter turnout among Latinos has been low in comparison with other ethnic groups. However, in 2018, Latino voter participation jumped dramatically, with Latinos making up an estimated 11% of all voters nationwide. Pretty impressive, considering that’s just shy of the 12.8% of eligible voters who are Latino. And Castro is confident, boldly promising Van Jones he will win Florida, Texas, and Arizona.* If he can pull that off, the path to the White House is wide open. In a crowded field, Julián Castro is a candidate to watch.
*The boast is not as far-fetched as it may sound. The Pew Research Center notes that in 2018 “Latinos made up a notable share of eligible voters in several states with competitive races…, including Texas (30%), Arizona (23%), Florida (20%), and Nevada (19%). In these states, Democrats won the Latino vote, sometimes by a wide margin.”
