Presidential candidate Julián Castro (D) said Thursday that his brother Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) is considering a 2020 Senate run.
“He’s considering that, but he really has not made a decision about whether he’s going to do that. I would imagine he would make a decision at some point soon,” Julián Castro, who was the Housing and Urban Development secretary under President Obama, told The Associated Press during a campaign stop in Nevada.
{mosads}No clear Democratic front-runner has emerged to challenge Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) in 2020.
Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas), who came within 3 percentage points of defeating Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in 2018, will reportedly not challenge Cornyn, and instead likely run for president.
O’Rourke said he had met with Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) about a potential second Senate run.
Joaquin Castro, who is serving as the campaign chairman for his brother, is the chairman of the House Hispanic Caucus and sponsored a measure passed Tuesday to block President Trump’s emergency declaration over the border wall.
Cornyn has comfortably won reelection every year since being elected in 2003, but many Democrats believe shifting demographics could mean he is vulnerable this time around.
“I think he’d beat him. My brother would win,” Julián Castro said.
“There are a lot of Texans that clearly have problems with the way that he has represented the state. Most recently, refusing to stand up to Trump even though a lot of land is going to get taken, a lot of Texas landowners’ property is going to get taken if there’s a wall.”