Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro has occasionally been mentioned as a possible 2020 opponent for GOP Sen. John Cornyn, and one unnamed source close to the Texas congressman says he’s very much considering. This person tells Politico that Castro believes that 2018 Senate nominee Beto O’Rourke could beat Cornyn and if he “decides to see this thing through and do that, then Joaquin will give him his full support.” However, they add that, if O’Rourke sits out the Senate race, “Joaquin will absolutely consider jumping in and finishing the job.” Castro has yet to say anything publicly about his interest in a Senate run.
Castro, who represents a safely blue House seat in San Antonio, has been aiding the presidential bid of his identical twin brother, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro. O’Rourke said recently that he’d decide on a presidential bid of his own by the end of February, and since the Castros almost certainly would prefer not to face another Texan Democrat in a presidential primary, it makes sense that they’d encourage him to run against Cornyn instead. O’Rourke hasn’t shown much public interest in another Senate run but has refused to rule it out, and Politico also reports that he met with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer last week about a possible campaign against Cornyn.
However, it’s far from guaranteed that Joaquin Castro would challenge Cornyn if O’Rourke didn’t. Castro expressed interest in challenging GOP Sen. Ted Cruz in July of 2016 and continued to talk about running throughout early 2017, but he finally said no in early May. A few months later, Politico reported that some Democrats, including Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez, were encouraging Castro to take on GOP Gov. Greg Abbott. Castro wouldn’t rule out challenging Abbott when asked, but he otherwise never showed much enthusiasm for the idea. Ultimately, Castro ended up winning a fourth term in the House without any trouble.
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