Politics

After debate clash, Texas U.S. Rep. switches from Castro to Biden

Three days after Julian Castro again used a 2020 presidential debate to direct attacked the Democratic Party front runner at a 2020 debate, one Texas Democrat in Congress publicly switched his support in the race for his party's nomination from Castro to former Vice President Joe Biden.

"I think at this point in time, we need to narrow the field," said Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX), in a Sunday interview on CNN.

In a written statement released by the Biden campaign, Gonzalez said nothing about his past support for Castro, instead emphasizing the need to trim the field running for President.

"At this point in the process, I believe Democrats need to consolidate behind a candidate who is sure to beat Donald Trump," Gonzalez said.

“We don’t need Donald Trump for a second term, we need someone who can beat him and win,” the Texas Congressman added.

In the last two debates, Castro had taken direct shots at Vice President Biden over health care, and accusing his party's front runner of flip-flopping on certain issues, and wrongly talking about former President Obama's actions only when they were politically beneficial.

"But my problem with Vice President Biden," Castro said at the ABC debate last week in Houston, "is every time something good about Barack Obama comes up, he says, oh, I was there, I was there, I was there, that's me, too, and then every time somebody questions part of the administration that we were both part of, he says, well, that was the president."

Biden said he wasn't doing anything of the sort.

"I stand with Barack Obama all eight years, good, bad and indifferent," Biden said to Castro. "That's where I stand."

At another point, Castro raised eyebrows about Biden's memory, in a debate on health care.

"Are you forgetting what you said two minutes ago? Are you forgetting already what you said just two minutes ago?"

Like a number of other Democrats, Castro's poll numbers have been mired in single digits - mainly bouncing between one and two percent.

Castro has shown no signs that he is going to get out of the race, as on Sunday, he challenged President Donald Trump's Supreme Court pick of Brett Kavanaugh.

"It’s more clear than ever that Brett Kavanaugh lied under oath," Castro said, after a new report from the New York Times about Kavanaugh's time at Yale. "He should be impeached."

In the last half dozen national polls, Castro had zero percent, four polls at one percent, and one at two percent.

In those same six polls, Biden was between 22 and 33 percent.