Julián Castro eliminates campaign staff in 2 states
Another candidate in the 2020 presidential race is cutting staff. President Obama's former housing secretary, Julián Castro, is eliminating his field offices in two states — New Hampshire and South Carolina. The decision, which was first reported by Politico on Monday and confirmed by CBS News, follows a similar one by Senator Kamala Harris last week.
Harris is sending much of her staff from New Hampshire to Iowa. Although New Hampshire hosts the first primary of the 2020 election cycle, both Castro and Harris are instead focusing their resources on Iowa, where the first voting contest in the nation will be taking place a week earlier.
Castro has struggled to raise money and his poll status.
At the end of September, his campaign had only $670,000 cash on hand. He met his goal to raise $800,000 after the October debate — enough to keep his campaign afloat but not to avoid major cuts.
He has yet to qualify for the November 20 debate in Atlanta. The rules require him to hit 3% in four polls approved by the Democratic National Committee or 5% in DNC-approved surveys in early states.
Before he led the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Castro was the mayor of San Antonio. He is the only Latino in the race, and at just 45 years old, he's also one of the younger candidates.
The 2020 field is still large, with 17 candidates but is slowly winnowing. Last week, former Congressman Beto O'Rourke became the latest to end his bid.
Tim Perry and LaCrai Mitchell contributed reporting
