Texas Rep. Castro, Mulling Senate Run, Slams Ted Cruz
Joaquin Castro may challenge Cruz for his Senate seat in 2018.
— -- Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas criticized Sen. Ted Cruz in an interview Thursday, possibly testing a couple of modes of attack that he could use against the polarizing senator in a contest for Cruz's seat in 2018.
“Many Texans have been extremely disappointed in Ted, in his leadership,” Castro told ABC News. “Ted doesn’t work for Texas, he works for Ted.”
Texans haven’t sent a Democrat to the Senate in more than 20 years, but Castro said they “want somebody in there who is not spending every day figuring out where in Iowa they’re going to visit.”
“He is somebody who went to Washington and made it worse,” Castro said of Cruz.
The ambitious San Antonio Democrat, whose future has been an object of speculation among the party faithful gathered in Philadelphia, said he’ll decide in the next couple of months whether to run for the Senate.
The congressman acknowledged that his twin brother, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, was disappointed that he wasn’t selected by Hillary Clinton as her running mate.
“Folks have asked him this week, ‘Hey, were you disappointed that you didn’t become VP?’ How could you not be disappointed that you’re not on a ticket like that?”
“Of course, there is some disappointment, but I think it’s eased when you lost out to somebody who is such a good person and who will help her win in November,” he said of Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia.