Castro Campaign Press Release - Julián Castro Secures Spot at First Round of DNC Debates

Secretary Castro guarantees participation in DNC debates before four sitting and former Members of Congress, three Senators, and two former Governors

SAN ANTONIO, TX (May 3, 2019) – On Friday, May 3, presidential candidate, Obama Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Mayor of San Antonio, Julián Castro, announced that he had secured 65,000 unique individual contributions, guaranteeing him for the first round of Democratic National Committee debates by both the polling and grassroots fundraising metrics.

Announced in a tweet posted to the candidate's Twitter account, Secretary Castro confirmed his campaign had reached the double threshold of polling and unique donors, and thanked his followers for their support. The campaign confirms that it has received donations from all 50 states and has received at least 200 unique donors from more than 44 different states and territories.

"When I started this campaign on January 12, I knew our team would have to work harder with fewer resources," said Secretary Julián Castro. "Reaching this threshold of genuine grassroots support is encouraging and shows without a doubt that this campaign continues to become stronger and stronger. I'm grateful for the support of so many people from around the country and am looking forward to the debates in June and July."

Notable is that Secretary Castro's presidential campaign started without the benefit of a previous campaign structure, email list or donor base. By New York Times measurements, Secretary Castro is the tenth candidate to reach both criteria for the first round of DNC debates, ahead of several higher-profile and better-funded candidates.