Democrat Julin Castro ends bid for U.S. presidential nomination

Former Obama housing secretary Julin Castro on Thursday ended his run for president that pushed the 2020 field on immigration and swung hard at rivals on the debate stage but never found a foothold to climb from the back of the pack.

"I'm so proud of the campaign we've run together. We've shaped the conversation on so many important issues in this race, stood up for the most vulnerable peopleand given a voice to those who are often forgotten," Castro said in an online video.

"But with only a month until the Iowa caucuses, and given the circumstances of this campaign season, I have determined that it simply isn't our time."

The video concludes, "So today it's with a heavy heart and with profound gratitudethat I will suspend my campaign for president. To all who have been inspired by our campaign, especially our young people, keep reaching for your dreams and keep fighting for what you believe in. Ganaremos un dia!" which translates to "we will win one day."

Castro dropped out after failing to garner enough support in the polls or donations to make recent Democratic debates.

A former San Antonio mayor who was the only Latino in the race, Castro had stalled for most of his campaign around one per cent in polls and entered October low on money.

But Castro's departure in particular also illuminates a touchy reality for Democrats: the primary field is narrowing into a race among three front-runners Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders who are all white and over the age of 70.

Made immigration a key issue

Castro, 45, was among the youngest in the running at a moment when the party's ascendant left wing is demanding generational change. And as the grandson of a Mexican immigrant, Castro said he recognized the meaning of his candidacy in the face of President Donald Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric and hardline policies on the U.S.-Mexico border.

But he laboured not to be pigeonholed as a single-issue candidate. Castro made the attention-getting choice of Puerto Rico as his first campaign stop, recited the names of black victims killed in high-profile police shootings and was the first in the field to call for Trump's impeachment.

But his sagging poll numbers never budged.

Trying to show he could go to-to-toe with Trump, Castro swung for big moments on debate stages, and flirted with a much-needed breakout in June after confronting then-candidate BetoO'Rourke over not supporting decriminalization of illegal border crossings.

But turning his sights on Biden on a later stage brought swift backlash. During the September debate in Houston, Castro appeared to touch on concerns about the age of the then-76-year-old former vice-president and added a parting shot at him.

"I'm fulfilling the legacy of Barack Obama, and you're not," Castro said.

Castro who was Obama's housing secretary in his second term denied taking a personal dig at Biden as others in the field condemned the exchange. Three days later, Castro lost one of his three backers in Congress, congressman Vicente Gonzalez of Texas, who switched his endorsement to Biden.

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Castro had warned supporters in a fundraising appeal that failing to make the November debate stage would spell the end of his campaign. He needed to hit at least threeper cent polling in four early state or national polls but didn't get even one.

What is next for Castro, the identical twin brother of congressman Joaquin Castro,is unclear. Back home in Texas, Democrats had long viewed Castro as their biggest star in waiting and some have urged him to run for governor as the state trends more diverse and liberal.

Castro was pegged as a rising Democratic star after being elected as mayor of the country's seventh-largest city at age 34, and he was on the short list for Hillary Clinton's running mate in 2016.