Julián Castro threw his weight behind Elizabeth Warren on Monday.
Joining Megan Rapinoe and Ayanna Pressley, Julián Castro threw his weight behind Elizabeth Warren on Monday. Joshua Lott/Getty Images

Former HUD Secretary and failed presidential hopeful Julián Castro made his endorsement Monday, and the lucky gal is... Elizabeth Warren.

“There’s one candidate I see who’s unafraid to fight like hell to make sure America’s promise will be there for everyone,” Castro said in a video released on Twitter. “Who will make sure that no matter where you live in America or where your family came from in the world, you have a path to opportunity, too. That’s why I’m proud to endorse Elizabeth Warren for president.”

Watch it below.


Warren, who has been slipping in the polls since October, can use the press. But in terms of pure politics, it is not immediately clear that this particular endorsement will win her many new voters.

Castro never broke 2 percent in the polls, and the most memorable moment of his campaign was when his brother released the names of Trump donors in his district. Castro also distinguished himself by wanting to decriminalize border crossings, and by embracing identity politics—although he didn't quite get the lingo. At one debate, for instance, he talked about the need to have abortion access for "trans females," when the correct terminology would have been "trans men" (who don't generally like to be referred to as "female").

However, while Castro's nods to intersectionality may appeal to, say, Oberlin undergrads, it's not likely to be a winning formula to win over the 12 percent of voters who backed Barack Obama and then Donald Trump. On the same day that Castro made his announcement, the New York Times published an analysis of how Democrats could win back those 12 percent of voters. "These are your classic cross-pressured voters," the authors wrote, "aligned with Democrats on many policies that are part of the progressive wish list but likely to be turned off by the party’s rhetoric on identity politics."

To win over these voters, according to the authors, Democrats should focus more on things like health care, the environment, and the economy, and focus less on race, gender, and sex. So while Elizabeth Warren may have just picked up the few Julian Castro stans, when it comes to beating Donald Trump, that's not likely to be enough.

Still, depending on what happens in Iowa and New Hampshire, she could surge again. In terms of diversity, it's too bad to lose another person of color from the Democratic primary. At least there are still two women in the race.