Thirteen years ago, a young mayor of San Antonio gave the keynote speech at the 2012 Democratic National Convention in North Carolina. At that point, the largely unknown Julián Castro became an instantaneous political phenom and a seemingly inevitable rising party star.
The press and politicos dubbed him the “Hispanic Obama,” a rather reductive moniker drawing the connection between the high-profile speaking slot that helped spark their ascents. Castro was soon after appointed Obama’s Housing and Urban Development secretary, which was supposed to serve as a stepping stone to the top of the ballot in Texas, where he could ride the state’s demographic destiny to victory and, eventually, run for president.
Alas, that was not the case. He decided not to challenge Ted Cruz for U.S. Senate in 2018, leaving the path wide-open for Beto O’Rourke, and waited to run straight for the presidency in 2020, a failed bid that likely narrowed his political future rather than expand it. His twin brother, longtime Congressman Joaquin Castro, declined to challenge Cruz in that pivotal year too.
