Julian Castro is an American lawyer and politician from San Antonio.
55 Facts About Julian Castro
2.
Julian Castro was mentioned as a possible running mate for Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential campaign.
3.
Julian Castro is the twin brother of Congressman Joaquin Castro.
4.
On January 12,2019, Julian Castro launched his campaign for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in 2020 in San Antonio.
5.
Julian Castro dropped out of the presidential race on January 2,2020, endorsing the candidacy of Elizabeth Warren soon after.
6.
Julian Castro was born in San Antonio, Texas, the son of Maria "Rosie" Julian Castro and Jessie Guzman.
7.
Julian Castro is the identical twin brother of current United States Representative Joaquin Castro; Julian is one minute older than Joaquin: they were born at 2:40 and 2:41 am, respectively.
8.
Julian Castro's mother is a Chicana political activist who helped establish the Chicano political party La Raza Unida, and who ran for the San Antonio City Council in 1971.
9.
Julian Castro's father, Jessie Guzman, is a retired mathematics teacher and political activist.
10.
Julian Castro attended Thomas Jefferson High School in San Antonio, where he played football, basketball and tennis; he collected trading cards.
11.
Julian Castro skipped his sophomore year and graduated in 1992, ranking ninth in his class.
12.
Julian Castro had received an offer to play tennis at Trinity University, an NCAA Division III school in his hometown, but chose to attend Stanford University, along with his twin brother Joaquin.
13.
Julian Castro graduated from Stanford in 1996 with a bachelor's degree in political science and communications.
14.
Julian Castro said he began thinking about entering politics while at Stanford, where he and his brother launched their first campaigns and won student senate seats, tying for the highest number of votes.
15.
Between his sophomore and junior years, Julian Castro worked as an intern at the White House during the presidency of Bill Clinton.
16.
In 2018, Castro was named as the Dean's Distinguished Fellow and Fellow of the Davila Chair in International Trade Policy at the Lyndon B Johnson School of Public Affairs.
17.
Julian Castro ran for mayor of San Antonio in 2005 and was widely viewed as the front runner in a field that included retired judge Phil Hardberger and conservative city councilman Carroll Schubert.
18.
Julian Castro hired Christian Archer, who had run Hardberger's campaign in 2005, to run his own 2009 campaign.
19.
Julian Castro established Cafe College in 2010, offering college guidance to San Antonio-area students.
20.
Julian Castro persuaded two of the most prominent businessmen in San Antonio, Charles Butt and Joe Robles, to lead an effort to pass a $30 million sales tax to fund the pre-kindergarten education program.
21.
In March 2010, Julian Castro was named to the World Economic Forum's list of Young Global Leaders.
22.
Julian Castro gained national attention in 2012 when he was the first Hispanic to deliver the keynote address at a Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.
23.
However, in 2014, Julian Castro accepted President Barack Obama's offer of the position of United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
24.
Julian Castro resigned as mayor effective July 22,2014, so that he could take up his duties in Washington.
25.
On July 28,2014, his first day in office, Julian Castro was honored at a reception called "Celebrating Latino Cabinet Members" hosted by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute.
26.
On October 15,2015, Julian Castro endorsed Hillary Clinton for president.
27.
In July 2016, the US Office of Special Counsel issued a finding that Julian Castro had violated the Hatch Act by commenting on the 2016 campaign while giving an interview in an official capacity; Julian Castro admitted the error and ordered his team to improve training on the Hatch Act.
28.
In October 2018, Julian Castro published his memoir, An Unlikely Journey: Waking Up from My American Dream through Little, Brown and Company.
29.
In 2018, Julian Castro visited the first in the nation New Hampshire primary state, and delivered the commencement address at New England College in Henniker, New Hampshire, on May 12,2018.
30.
Julian Castro stated that he would make his decision on whether to run in 2020 after the November 2018 mid-term elections.
31.
On December 12,2018, Julian Castro announced the formation of an exploratory committee.
32.
Julian Castro formally announced his candidacy for the 2020 presidential election on January 12,2019, at a rally in San Antonio, TX.
33.
Julian Castro would have been the first Democratic presidential nominee since 1924 to not have first served as vice president, governor or senator, and the first Hispanic or Latino nominee for president.
34.
Julian Castro was the first Texan in the 2020 race and would have been the third-youngest president if elected.
35.
Julian Castro was rebuked for his remarks by various members of the candidates on stage including, Andrew Yang, Amy Klobuchar, and Pete Buttigieg.
36.
Julian Castro has defended his attack against Biden saying he "wouldn't do it differently" and insisted he wasn't making fun of Biden.
37.
On January 6,2020, Julian Castro endorsed Senator Elizabeth Warren for president.
38.
Julian Castro was a "partner" in Warren's presidential campaign but she failed to win Texas.
39.
In October 2020, Julian Castro joined the board of directors of the Center for American Progress, a center-left think tank founded by John Podesta.
40.
On July 12,2021, Julian Castro joined NBC News and MSNBC as a political commentator.
41.
Julian Castro supports increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.
42.
Julian Castro is a supporter of national and international trade regulation.
43.
Julian Castro supports making the first two years of higher education tuition-free.
44.
Julian Castro has called for universal health care and indicated he would consider funding such a program by raising taxes on corporations and the wealthy.
45.
Julian Castro has voiced support for a Green New Deal.
46.
Julian Castro has endorsed a gradual withdrawal of US troops from Syria while criticizing Trump's approach to the issue.
47.
Julian Castro has stated that he is "not going to take any PAC money" as a presidential candidate, and has encouraged others to do the same.
48.
Julian Castro had however formed a PAC in 2017 which mostly covered his running expenses while donating to several dozen "young, progressive" Democratic politicians.
49.
Julian Castro is pro-choice, and has "vigorously" opposed state laws limiting abortion access after the 20th week of pregnancy and other restrictions.
50.
Julian Castro is a member of Washington DC based think tank the Inter-American Dialogue.
51.
Julian Castro was the first San Antonio mayor to serve as the grand marshal of the city's Pride Parade in 2009 and in 2011 led a push to offer domestic partner benefits in the city.
52.
Julian Castro said in a tweet that transgender people should be allowed to serve in the armed forces.
53.
Julian Castro later rectified himself to include all trans and non-binary people after having been corrected on Twitter.
54.
In 2007, Julian Castro married Erica Lira, an elementary school teacher.
55.
Julian Castro is not a native Spanish speaker, but he began learning the language in 2010 while serving as mayor of San Antonio.