In a move likely unprecedented in presidential politics, Hillary Clinton’s campaign appears to have leaked her choice for vice-presidential running mate: former San Antonio mayor Julian Castro.
The prediction was reported by former Clinton administration official Henry Cisneros during an interview over the weekend on Univision’s Al Punto broadcast which described Castro as Hillary’s “only option.”
Castro catapulted to national stardom after his keynote address to the Democrat National Convention in 2012. The speech was quickly compared to the address given by then-Senator Barack Obama to the 2004 national convention which kick started his own rise to the national stage.
In 2009, soon after Castro won his campaign for mayor of San Antonio, the Obama administration made him Secretary of Housing and Urban Affairs. This could well have been a calculated move to prepare Castro for future presidential politics.
Castro’s selection would present a formidable challenge to the Republican Party. He could largely mute the calling card to Hispanic voters presented by either of the two Hispanic candidates among the GOP hopefuls: Ted Cruz or Marco Rubio.
Castro’s heritage, added to Hillary’s appeal to female voters in an election cycle that nearly all admit favors Democrats, could be the deciding factor even before the parties’ conventions begin.
