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Julián Castro hits $800K, 10-day goal to keep campaign alive but still four polls shy of debate invite

Atlanta debate Nov. 20 will proceed without former HUD secretary unless he gets a burst in polls soon

WASHINGTON — Julián Castro’s presidential bid remains on life support, but he announced Friday that he has hit a 10-day fund-raising goal of $800,000 that he had cast as a do-or-die target.

A housing secretary in the Obama cabinet and former San Antonio mayor, Castro is the only Hispanic candidate in the 2020 presidential field.

He warned supporters on Oct. 21 that he would be forced to drop out unless he managed to raise $800,000 by Halloween — and that the campaign is hopeless if he’s shut out of the next Democratic debate.

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He raised the money.

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But he’s still shut out of the Nov. 20 debate in Atlanta, the Democrats’ fifth, for lack of traction in the polls.

He has only until Nov. 13 to qualify under rules set by the party: 3% in four national polls taken since Sept. 13, or 5% in two polls in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina or Nevada, the four states that start the primary season.

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Castro has not chalked even one such poll.

The other Texan in the race, former El Paso congressman Beto O’Rourke, dropped out on Friday.

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The criteria are even tougher for the sixth debate, in Los Angeles on Dec. 19: 4% in at least four national or early-state polls, or 6% in two single-state polls in one of the four early states.

"Secretary Castro has run a historic campaign that has changed the nature of the 2020 election and pushed the Democratic Party on a number of big ideas. Unfortunately, we do not see a path to victory that doesn’t include making the November debate stage — and without a significant uptick in our fundraising, we cannot make that debate,” campaign manager Maya Rupert said in a statement Oct. 21.

On Friday, she was more upbeat.

“Time and time again this campaign has defied expectations with the support of an army of dedicated, grassroots supporters,” she said. “We set an extremely ambitious goal to keep Secretary Castro’s voice in this race, and our supporters met the challenge and delivered one of the best months of the campaign to date.

"We’re not going anywhere — Julián will keep being a voice for the voiceless, and a champion for the Americans who have been left behind. We will keep lifting up important issues others choose to ignore, and demonstrating by example why Secretary Castro is the best candidate to take on Donald Trump.”

The $800,000 adds to Castro’s anemic $3.5 million haul for July through September.

A half-dozen contenders raised more in the third quarter of 2019 than the $7.6 million Castro has raised since launching his campaign in January.