San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro To Deliver Dem Keynote Address

[Governor Scott]

Julian Castro, the mayor of San Antonio, has been tapped to deliver the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte.

Castro, a 37-year-old Stanford and Harvard graduate, has been hailed as an up-and-comer in Democratic politics. He is the first Hispanic to give the Democratic keynote address -- a speaking slot that catapulted a then-little known Barack Obama into the national spotlight in 2004.

...

Castro will speak on Tuesday, Sept. 4, which is the official start of the Democratic gathering in North Carolina. First lady Michelle Obama will also speak that night.

USA Today

Certainly unexpected.

[Senator Snowstalker]

We already had this somewhere, but it's cool that he's doing it. Based on his interview on Colbert, he seemed pretty cool.

Of course, on that day Fox News will have the headline "Castro Addresses Democrat Convention".

[Governor Scott]

We already had this somewhere, but it's cool that he's doing it. Based on his interview on Colbert, he seemed pretty cool.

Of course, on that day Fox News will have the headline "Castro Addresses Democrat Convention".

Yeah, the Tea Party is going to have a field day with this one.

[Tender Branson]

WHO ?

[© Tweed the Younger]

obvious Rubio-shadowing

[Lief]

WHO ?

The mayor of San Antonio.

[Clinton 2016]

President Castro 2024!

[You kip if you want to...]

Pandering.

[ajc0918]

I listened to his speech from the 2012 Texas Dem Convention and he's a decent speaker. Certainly he was chosen to connect the the latino/hispanic communities, but he is seen as a rising star in Texas.

[Speaker Dereich]

I listened to his speech from the 2012 Texas Dem Convention and he's a decent speaker. Certainly he was chosen to connect the the Latino/hispanic communities, but he is seen as a rising star in Texas.

I would think that associating yourself with the national Democratic party by being their keynote speaker would pretty quickly quash any rising star in Texas.

[pbrower2a]

I listened to his speech from the 2012 Texas Dem Convention and he's a decent speaker. Certainly he was chosen to connect the the Latino/hispanic communities, but he is seen as a rising star in Texas.

I would think that associating yourself with the national Democratic party by being their keynote speaker would pretty quickly quash any rising star in Texas.

States can shift very far and very fast. Just look at Arkansas and West Virginia, states that Democratic nominees for President could not win without... until 2008.

Could it be that the Republican Party is getting stale and corrupt in Texas? Texas isn't Mississippi where people will vote for a crook or bungler of their own ethnicity rather than vote for an effective reformer who does not look like the voter.   

I speak of the political long term. In electoral politics 1976, the last year in which Texas voted for a Democratic nominee for President and in which California and Illinois both voted for a Republican in a non-blowout election, might as well be ancient history.

[Gravis Marketing]

I listened to his speech from the 2012 Texas Dem Convention and he's a decent speaker. Certainly he was chosen to connect the the Latino/hispanic communities, but he is seen as a rising star in Texas.

I would think that associating yourself with the national Democratic party by being their keynote speaker would pretty quickly quash any rising star in Texas.

When was the last time a Dem won statewide in TX? 1994? He has zero to lose.

[Likely Voter]

Castro is a twofer for the Dems. It is a nice bit of short term pandering to the Hispanic base and it raises the profile of someone they see as a long term rising star, maybe someone who could help turn TX purple in a decade or so (when demographics are supposedly going to start helping dems in the state).

[stegosaurus]

I listened to his speech from the 2012 Texas Dem Convention and he's a decent speaker. Certainly he was chosen to connect the the Latino/hispanic communities, but he is seen as a rising star in Texas.

I would think that associating yourself with the national Democratic party by being their keynote speaker would pretty quickly quash any rising star in Texas.

...and you would be right, for the time being. I'm guessing that the Democrats are betting on demographic trends in Texas. As of the 2010 census, whites were 45% of the population where as Hispanics were 37%. This trend is the only hope Democrats have for a statewide win going forward and that's probably why they are propping up Castro, who is the only remotely strong candidate on the TXDP bench.

[TheDeadFlagBlues]

Relevant information on Castro for those who are interested:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/09/magazine/09Mayor-t.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITScnHWdvjA

[asexual trans victimologist]

His brother is running for a pretty safe House seat as I understand it. Could Mayor Castro run for another House seat at some point, or is any upward path for him more likely to be statewide or appointed?

[Lief]

He could run in TX-35 when Lloyd Doggett retires.

[asexual trans victimologist]

As another possibility, what about TX-15 post-Hinojosa? Doesn't that go into or next to Bexar now?