Julián Castro Raises $800K to Stay in Presidential Race

Democrat presidential hopeful and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro announced Friday that he had raised the necessary $800,000 to stay in the presidential race.

“We’re not going anywhere,” said Maya Rupert, Castro’s campaign manager.

Castro also celebrated the news on Twitter as he thanked all of those who contributed.

“I’m excited to announce that last night we surpassed our $800K fundraising goal,” Castro said. “With the help of 50K donors, we raised more than $1M for the month of October, one of our biggest months yet.”

He added, “Thank you so much to everyone who helped us get there.”

Earlier this month, Castro pleaded for donations to assist with his campaign and stated that if he did not raise $800,000 by October 31, 2019, he would have to drop out of the race.

“[T]his is a critical moment— if my campaign can’t raise $800,000 by October 31st, my campaign will be silenced for good,” Castro wrote in a tweet at the time.

“Time and time again this campaign has defied expectations with the support of an army of dedicated, grassroots supporters,” Rupert stated.

Castro, who has participated in every Democrat debate up until this point, has yet to qualify for the November debate. He has met the fundraising requirement, but not the polling threshold. According to RealClearPolitics’ average, Castro is polling at 0.7 percent.