Castro Campaign Press Release - Julián Castro Campaign Raises $2 Million

First quarter fundraising totaled $1.1 million; April fundraising seeing explosive growth due to digital investments and high-profile media appearances

SAN ANTONIO, TX (April 15, 2019) – Today, Monday, April 15, the presidential campaign of former Obama Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Mayor of San Antonio, Texas, Julián Castro, announced that the campaign raised roughly $2 million from 50,000 unique donors since the formation of an exploratory committee in December 2018, averaging $32 per contribution. The campaign has raised more than $572,000 since the beginning of April, half of the total first quarter fundraising of $1.1 million. Since mid-March, the campaign has invested heavily in digital fundraising and brought on key staff. In April, the campaign released a bold immigration policy, and participated in several high-profile media interviews and a nationally-televised town hall. In Emerson Polling's April national poll, released today, Secretary Castro is polling at 3 percent support, up from 1 percent in its March national poll.

"We're just getting started and are rapidly building momentum," said campaign manager Maya Rupert. "We met our internal goals for the first quarter, and in the first two weeks of April have smashed our fundraising goal for the month. In the process, the campaign released a policy proposal for immigration that fearlessly presents a progressive vision for immigration reform. We're building a sustainable, impactful campaign for the long term that respects its staff, volunteers and supporters."

In April, Secretary Castro has appeared on The Rachel Maddow Show and Real Time with Bill Maher, and held a CNN Town Hall. On April 2, Secretary Castro became the first 2020 Democratic candidate to release a detailed immigration proposal, unflinchingly focusing on President Trump's signature campaign issue. Unveiled in a Medium post and in The Washington Post, Secretary Castro's bold and extensive 'People First Immigration' plan, would reform our immigration system, create a more just and compassionate border policy, and establish a 21st century Marshall Plan for Central America to re-engage our Latin American partners and address the root causes of migration.

The campaign announced the following details of its first quarter financial report for the period of January 1, 2019 - March 31, 2019:

• $1.1 million raised
• $625,000 in disbursements
• $677,000 cash on hand as of March 31, 2019
• 20,319 unique donors as of March 31, 2019

New staff hires as of March, 2019:

• Julia Ager — Senior Advisor for Digital; Julia is the founder and CEO of Sapphire Strategies and is the former Chief Digital Officer for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
• Mili Gosar — Director of Voting and Delegate Strategy; Mili was the National Voter Protection Director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee for the 2018 election cycle.
• Lillie Catlin — National Organizing Director; Lillie is currently the Deputy Organizing Director at the ACLU.
• Christina Cue — South Carolina State Director
• Kristian Carranza — Nevada Organizing Director