CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript Interview with Joaquin Castro
Interview
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The former secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Obama, the former Democratic presidential candidate, Julian Castro is joining us now.
Mr. Secretary, thanks so much for joining us. You're a former mayor of San Antonio. Do you think Joe Biden realistically has a legitimate shot at taking your state?
JULIAN CASTRO, FORMER HUD SECRETARY UNDER OBAMA: I absolutely do. It looks like 2020 is the year when Texas can go Democratic. And that's 30 electoral votes. Now why do I say that? First of all, just look at what's happened over the last few years. In 2016 Hillary Clinton was nine points behind Donald Trump. In 2018 Texas Democrats took back two congressional seats, they took 12 House state seats, state House seats back, and Beto O'Rourke came within 2 1/2 points of Ted Cruz in the U.S. Senate race. [19:05:07]
Today, poll after poll that you see over the last three months shows Joe Biden at least high if not a couple of points ahead of Donald Trump in Texas. Because what's happened is that under Donald Trump, people in the suburbs of Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, have moved away from the Republican Party. And at the same time, you have the demographic growth that everybody has talked about and written about, all of the Latino community that is trending toward Democrats this (INAUDIBLE).
So it gives me a lot of confidence that this could be the year but we can't take anything for granted. You know, all of the things about investing in voter registration and outreach, and making sure that Democrats reach voters, we've got to do that because this is going to be an unusual year.
BLITZER: The Lincoln Project, and that's a PAC funded by anti-Trump Republicans, just released a major ad buy aimed at Latino voters in Arizona, Florida and Texas. Do you think Latino voters are the key right now to turning those states blue?
CASTRO: No question. I mean, you look at the -- just the demographics of those states. And each of those states is right there for the taking. Last time Florida was about a point or a point and a half in Donald Trump's favor. Right now Joe Biden is leading in Florida. I think that looks promising. Of course there's still work to do but it's right there to be won. In Arizona, Arizona was about 3 1/2 points in Donald Trump's favor last time.
That was the closest that anybody had come since 1996. So Mark Kelly right now is leading Martha McSally in the U.S. Senate race there. Joe Biden is winning in most polls in Arizona right now. It's right there for the taking. And Latino voters are going to be absolutely crucial to make sure that they turned out.
I will say, Wolf, that in 2016, Latino turnout fell by a point and a half. From 48.5 percent turnout in 2012 to 47 percent turnout in 2016. Getting those numbers up is absolutely crucial if we're going to win in 2020.
BLITZER: I'm curious to get your thoughts on this Postal Service crisis that's unfolding right now. What do you think needs to be done in order to deal with this, not just in terms of a large number of Americans want to vote by mail, especially elderly who don't want to wait in long lines during a coronavirus pandemic, people with underlying health conditions? There's going to be a lot of people wanting to vote by mail and the Postal Service is in a crisis right now.
CASTRO: Well, it absolutely is. And it deserves the attention that Speaker Pelosi and the Democrats are giving it, which is this is a five-alarm fire. This is an urgent crisis. People, as many people have said, folks rely on the U.S. Postal Service for so many vital things. Their checks, for their medication, small businesses, they rely on the Postal Service, the sale of goods and receive goods. So having the Oversight Committee get the postmaster general in front of them on August 21st -- 24th is a good first step.
Now we know that the Trump administration has a history of not obeying by these subpoenas, they're basically flouting them. I think if the postmaster general, given the circumstances, flouts the subpoena that he should be immediately held in contempt of Congress and that Congress should move forward with trying to enforce that subpoena power by any means necessary to ensure that they're conducting proper oversight of the Postal Service.
We cannot allow the president to put his own selfish political interests above the interests of Americans, seeing their need of medications, people who need their checks, small businesses that need the Postal Service. That's just not something that we can do in this country.
BLITZER: Yes. And U.S. Military veterans who rely on the Postal Service, among others, to get their medications in the mail as well.
Secretary Castro, thanks so much for joining us.
CASTRO: Good to be with you, Wolf.
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