Hill.TV host Krystal Ball on Friday dismissed claims that Julián Castro’s status as a minority candidate in the Democratic presidential primary had anything to do with his failure to break through the crowded field of White House hopefuls.
Ball maintained that such a claim “doesn’t even hold up to even a split second of scrutiny,” noting that the top two candidates in the field — former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) — are buoyed in large part due to support from voters in communities of color.
“The coalitions are by far the most diverse of any of the candidates, so if you’re angry about the failure of people of color in this primary, I guess you should be angry at the voters of color who didn’t back them,” Ball said.
Castro, the only Latino in the race and one of the few candidates of color left in the field, officially suspended his campaign on Thursday after struggling to gain traction in the polls.
The former Obama Cabinet member was polling at 1 percent shortly before ending his campaign, according to the RealClearPolitics polling index.
“It’s with profound gratitude to all of our supporters that I suspend my campaign for president today,” the former Department of Housing and Urban Development secretary said in a tweet announcing the news.
“I’m so proud of everything we’ve accomplished together,” he added. “I’m going to keep fighting for an America where everyone counts—I hope you’ll join me in that fight.”
Castro’s exit represents a shrinking of the Democratic primary field to 14 contenders while drawing renewed scrutiny of the increasing lack of diversity in the party’s roster of candidates.
In a fundraising email to supporters, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), one of two African American candidates left in the 2020 race, noted that Democrats were losing “yet another person of color” with Castro’s exit from the primary.
“Here’s the reality: It seems like billionaires with bottomless checkbooks have a clearer path to the nomination then talented, experienced, qualified candidates like Julián Castro,” the email read.
Castro’s departure comes less than a month after Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), one of two female candidates of color in the Democratic primary battle, abruptly ended her campaign, citing lack of campaign funds.
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