There’s disappointment in San Antonio following Hillary Clinton’s decision to choose Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine as her running mate.
Last October former San Antonio mayor and U.S. Housing Secretary Julian Castro appeared with Hillary Clinton in the Alamo City helping her rally Latino voters
The campaign appearance fueled speculation that Castro was a top contender to be Clinton’s running mate, and in recent weeks the 41-year old rising star was being vetted for the job with several others who made the short list.
“I’m disappointed. I think that he would be great,” said State Rep. Diego Bernal, a San Antonio Democrat. He’s a longtime friend and former city council colleague of Castro.
Bernal thinks Clinton missed an opportunity.
“Sure, the Latino thing is a big deal, and honestly it’s a voter base the Democratic Party needs to be very careful not to take for granted. Beyond that I think he touches a lot of other folks as well. I think he touches progressives. I think he touches young people.”
Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa said he believes Castro would have been a politically safe pick for Clinton and the nation.
"He has the experience and I think the commitment to a lot of the issues that Hillary Clinton has been running on. And I think he would have been a great vice president and actually would have helped her a lot in this campaign.”
Hinojosa believes Castro’s political future is still promising.
"He'll be in the administration regardless of whether he's the vice president. He'll be a cabinet member or running the Democratic national committee, one of those key positions. And ultimately you haven't seen the last of him and his brother Joaquin."
Rep. Joaquin Castro is the twin brother who serves in the U.S. House of Representatives.
What comes next for Julian Castro is unclear. He’ll be a lame duck cabinet official after November unless the new president reappoints him. Castro has said he doesn’t plan to run for governor in two years which he has been urged to do.
Shortly after Clinton made her announcement Friday evening Secretary Castro tweeted that Clinton/Kaine is “a winning ticket for America," and “I’m with them.”
