Obviously, people have been eying Julian Castro for bigger and better things for some time now, and no one (including myself) would have been shocked if Hillary had picked him as her running mate next year. But in some quarters, it being said that this is a done deal, and that Hillary doesn’t even have a second choice.
I can certainly see the advantages to having a Hispanic on the ticket, and Castro might be a very good choice from a purely strategic standpoint.
But what do you think? Is he now a sure thing or close to it? And is he qualified? Especially given that his biggest job to date is mayor of San Antonio- a city which is actually run by a City Manager, and which pays its mayor a pittance.
Not a done deal by any means and not likely in my opinion. I don’t think his resume is thick enough. There’s also the matter of his last name, I can just see the right wing Facebook posts “OMFG! Hillary picks Castro! Proof she’s a Commie!”
As others have said, nobody picks a running mate this early.
While Clinton looks strong now, her nomination is not a foregone conclusion. She got surprised in 2008 after all.
Some other candidate could emerge as a contender and Clinton might make a deal with him to get his supporters.
Clinton will have to see how her campaign is developing in order to see where she has vulnerabilities and needs a running mate to balance the ticket.
Clinton will also have to see who the Republican nominees are likely to be in order to figure out which groups are winnable and can be swayed by her VP choice.
Bit of an aside really, but would anybody be a popular enough choice to potentially put Texas on the table for the Democrats? How close is Texas to turning blue?
Probably not unless the Republican is historically buffoonish (and not from Texas!). Choosing Castro would (presumably) be to solidify Hispanic support for the Democratic party and set up a winning 2024 candidate, at a time in which Texas really might start to be in play.
Not very. Projections I’ve seen don’t figure it to be competitive until 2026 or 2032 – assuming that Hispanics remain a Democratic voting bloc during all that time.
Castro is currently Secretary of HUD, which counts as his biggest job to date. I’m still trying to figure out if looking like Lt. Sulu is a plus or a minus, though.
I’m still holding out for Mark Warner, myself. Lock those 13 electoral votes DOWN.
But I could see Castro being a great choice, too. Hillary doesn’t need someone like Biden - who provided foreign policy experience - to backstop her bona fides.
