Castro was considered a possible VP pick, but that didn’t pan out. He’s currently HUD Secretary. Assuming the Democrats want to develop him, which they obviously do, what’s the next best step for him? An ambassador? Dept. of Energy? Perhaps back to the House? Maybe try to win statewide in Texas for governor or Senator?
IMO, if he’s truly as attractive a candidate as he’s hyped to be, he should be able to win statewide in TX. It’s not unheard of for Democrats to do so and even if it is very, very difficult, wouldn’t state Democrats want to put their best candidate up? Ted Cruz is not terribly popular in Texas. Sounds to me like a Castro-Cruz race in 2018 is a golden opportunity, plus if you want to keep Cruz away from the White House there are few better ways to do it than for him to suffer a loss. It killed George Allen’s hopes dead.
It would be in his best interests to establish residency some place else. No Democrat is going to win in a Texas statewide election in a midterm election. Cruz might be vulnerable in a Republican primary but no Republican is going to lose the general election. Who was the last Democrat to win a statewide election? It’s been at least 20 years.
He should organize heavily to increase Latino turnout, and then run statewide in TX, for Senator or Governor during a Presidential election (when turnout is likely to be highest).
Wouldn’t that be more of a job for his brother who already has a number of elections under his belt?
Not knocking the guy but honest question: what’s so great about Julian that shows he should be “developed”? How did he get the cabinet gig? Seems a pretty big leap in status.
He should do it too. Maybe one can run for Senator, one for Governor. Next time both are open during a Presidential race (perhaps 2024?), they should do this and power through the state campaigning together, pumping up Latino turnout as high as it could possibly go.
I liked his speech in 2012, but I don’t know a whole lot about him. According to Obama and Hillary Clinton (and other prominent Democrats), he’s very smart and capable – he got his cabinet gig both to put a smart and capable guy in charge of a department, and to further raise his profile and help him be a national Democratic figure in the future.
EDIT: I looked it up, and unfortunately for them it looks like the Governor’s race is every 4 years during midterm elections, which alters my recommendation. Perhaps one of them can be Senator, then run for Governor after a single Senate term, with the brother taking over the Senate seat.
Alternatively, Castro could follow Bush 41’s career path. Bush 41 started out as a Congressman and then built up a long and substantial foreign policy portfolio. So maybe the ambassadorship would be the logical next step?
Actually, Bush went straight to the UN out of Congress. Sounds reasonable for Castro, no?
With the Governor’s seat rotating during midterms, perhaps Julian Castro ought to run for Senate in 2024, and if he wins, then he can run for Governor in 2030, while his brother runs for his Senate seat. They’ll both be about 55 in 2030, and would be (if they win) relatively elder statesmen in the party, and prime candidates for VP or Prez in 2032 and 2036.
Joaquin can stay in Congress, and Julian can stay in the Cabinet (assuming Hillary wins). At some point Julian can step down, maybe in 2020 or so, and start a big organization dedicated to registering Latino voters and getting them more involved in politics. Then, in 2024, he runs for Senate.
Just an idea, anyway. I wouldn’t oppose him running in 2018 against Cruz if his advisors and other top Democrats think it’s a good idea, but I tend to think that’s just a bit to soon for the demographics to change enough to give him a chance.
Probably, but even if he doesn’t have a chance it’s still worth doing. YOu don’t just surrender Senate seats, you challenge for them. Plus if Castro wants to win statewide, a statewide run, even a failed one, is a good way to increase his profile in Texas.
Possibly. A close loss in TX could raise his profile, but a bad loss could destroy his political future. Texas political experts probably would know best.
I think it would be pretty foolhardy to keep him as a hothouse flower then plop him into what would be a very tough Senate election. 2024 would make over 10 years since he campaigned.
2018 is the year Ted Cruz comes up for reelection, as well. Never well liked, his stunt at the RNC lost him even more fans.
A Democratic win in a state-wide election is still a long shot here. But working to encourage the Tejano vote will help this time. And perhaps in the future–for any Castro who happens to be running. Better than waiting…
Not Mexico. He doesn’t speak Spanish. Plus if you want him as a future President he needs to not be placed into an obvious comfort zone. Learning Spanish and learning more about Mexico doesn’t help Castro. He’s already Latino. Send him to South Africa, or China, or France, or India.
What? No, learning Spanish would definitely help him and ambassador to Mexico is at least a post that keeps him close to home getting comfortable with a major trading partner. And “Want him as a future President” is getting waaaay ahead of ourselves. I do agree, as I said above, that keeping him as a hothouse flower too long risks future election viability.
Being ambassador to Mexico helps in a very narrow sense, but you can’t build a Presidential campaign on being the guy who handled the Latino stuff. It would have been like sending Bush 41 to Britain instead of the UN. The UN job isn’t practically important, but a talented individual can make it important if he wants to. Although Castro didn’t take the opportunity to make HUD important, he just kinda did the job in acceptable fashion. But I guess that’s okay, because Bush 41 never really distinguished himself either in all his jobs.
Mexico is the third largest U.S. trading partner. An ambassadorship there is a little more than “handling the Latino stuff”. And again, why should the Dems be looking to make Julian a presidential candidate when he’s got a twin brother actually building an electoral record?