Julián Castro has proven to be at the forefront of Black and minority issues, and despite the criticism he has received, Castro dons a fearless armor when taking those hits. The Democratic presidential candidate called into SiriusXM’s “The Clay Cane Show” on Thursday and spoke candidly on his outspokenness about race, and if it has done more harm than good to his campaign.
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“I would like to think that it hasn’t, but let’s be honest maybe it has,” Castro admitted. “I haven’t done any polling on it. We haven’t done any focus groups on it. I haven’t done any polling and focus group so far in the campaign because I’ve just been telling people what I believe and laid out a vision for the future without all of that. However, I think there are people in our country that want a candidate to address the kinds of issues that I’m addressing.”
He continued, “And then there’s some people that get a little uncomfortable and still, even in year 2019, even on the democratic side, maybe don’t want to have that conversation, which is unfortunate, but we’re going to go out there and make sure that on articulating a vision of America where everyone counts.”
Castro has seemingly led the way regarding immigration, police reform, housing, and more. He said in an interview with Politico, “There has been a focus on people that are left behind, people that are struggling, including an awareness of how race impacts that.”
The Democratic presidential candidate has also refused to shy away from humanizing the lives of Black and Brown youth, who were killed by police. One would assume that this level of support would reflect in Castro’s poll numbers, but it does not. In fact, Castro did not qualify for the November debate, which required 3% in four polls approved by the Democratic national committee or 5% in two early-state surveys, according to the Texas Tribune. Castro failed to meet the threshold in any qualifying poll.
Meanwhile, Joe Biden, who has stumbled and fumbled on numerous occasions when discussing race, maintains his lead in the polls. Fox News reported earlier this month that Biden was backed by 31% of Democratic primary voters, just 1% lower than his reported numbers for October.
In the latest saga of Biden flubs, he was called out by Sen. Cory Booker after saying that he received support from the “only” African American woman elected to Senate. There’s two.
“I’m part of that Obama coalition,” Biden said. “I come out of the black community, in terms of my support. If you notice, I have more people supporting me in the black community that have announced for me, because they know me, they know who I am. Three former chairs of the Black Caucus, the only African American woman that has ever been elected to the United States Senate. A whole range of people.”
He was quickly corrected by Sen. Booker, who replied, “That’s not true.” Sen. Kamala Harris chimed in and said, “The other one is here.” Biden was apparently referring to Carol Moseley Braun, the former Illinois senator and the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Senate, who endorsed him earlier this year. Perhaps, Biden had a lapse of memory in the moment because the second Black woman elected to senate, Sen. Harris, was standing a few feet away from him.
This is only one blunder from a list of many by the former vice president. He said in Iowa back in August, “Poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids.” However, considering these missteps, they have merely caused awkward grins and Twitter reactions.
Castro, on the other hand, is working to ensure that he is on the debate stage next month. He told “The Clay Cane Show,” “I’m working hard to make sure that I’m on the next debate stage in December because throughout the campaign, as you know, we’ve been speaking up for the most vulnerable people that are often forgotten, the most marginalized, not only the middle-class, but also the poor, which Democrats haven’t always been good over the last 30 or 40 years of talking about and addressing. So, I’m going to work hard to get there in the next debate.”
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