Hillary Clinton is set to pick up the endorsement of Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro during a rally with Latino voters in San Antonio on Thursday.
A former mayor of San Antonio, Castro is a rising star in the Democratic Party and a potential vice presidential candidate.
The endorsement fits with Clinton’s October theme: Latino voters. Clinton’s campaign has rolled out Latino focused policy and endorsements throughout the month. In addition to Castro, Clinton has also scored backing from Hispanic celebrities Marc Anthony and Salma Hayek, as well as Dolores Huerta, a longtime Hispanic labor organizer.
Latinos are a critically important voting bloc for the Democratic Party, one that could possibly sway both the race for the party’s nomination and the general election. Clinton finds herself in a tighter-than-expected race with Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, and her move to consolidate Latino support is a sign the candidate is trying to solidify her base.
Latinos voters have long supported Clinton. During the 2008 Democratic primary, Hispanics picked Clinton over then-Sen. Barack Obama by a nearly 2-to-1 margin. And recent polling shows Clinton far ahead of Sanders with non-white voters.
The Castro endorsement comes days after Clinton’s strong performance in the first Democratic debate and in the middle of a frenetic swing of the country with seven events in four states in four days. After picking up Castro’s endorsement, Clinton will head to New Hampshire for two events and Alabama for another. She also rallied with roughly 2,500 supporters in Las Vegas on Wednesday
In addition to rallies, Clinton has sat down for local interviews across the country. On Wednesday, she spoke with stations in Hampton Roads, Virginia; Raleigh, North Carolina; Denver; Minneapolis and Atlanta.
The drumbeat around Castro becoming Clinton’s vice presidential candidate is likely louder than any other Democrat. Castro had dinner with former President Bill Clinton in August 2014, according to The Washington Post.
Before the Castro rally, at a question-and-answer session with the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in San Antonio, Clinton said she regarded him as one of “the best young leaders in America.”
“Well, I think really highly of him and I am thrilled to have his endorsement today. Both he and his brother are among the best young leaders in America, regardless of category or the fact they come from San Antonio,” she said. “I am really going to look hard at him for anything because that is how good he is.”
Castro has been a staunch defender of Clinton over the last few months. Asked by CNN in August about her growing email controversy, Castro said, “Folks need to understand that she did not handle classified information that was classified at the time. It may have become classified later, but it was not classified that way at the time.”
He has also batted down any speculation about possibly becoming vice president.
“It’s flattering,” he said of the speculation at an event in Kansas City in July. “But there really is not anything to make of it. I’m focused on my work at HUD. This is not like something you run for. Nobody signs up for that. So I’m just gonna keep doing what I’m doing.”