Amid campaign’s financial struggles, Castro staffers seek other jobs

Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro is reportedly supporting his staffers looking for jobs on other presidential campaigns as he shifts his campaign to focus on the key states of Iowa, Nevada and Texas, CNN reported.

Castro announced last month that if he did not hit $800,000 in donations over the last 10 days of October, he would drop out of the race. Although his team did reach the goal, Castro has struggled to match other top-tier Democratic candidates in fundraising or support among voters, sources familiar with the campaign confirmed to CNN.

Even before the fundraising push in the last weeks of October, senior staff on the campaign told other staffers that they were free to look for other positions on other campaigns. They reportedly said there would have to be staffing adjustments on the campaign regardless of whether they hit their $800,000 goal. 

{mosads} A source confirmed to CNN that Castro has no immediate plans to drop out of the crowded 2020 Democratic field, but staff wanted to be as “clear as possible” and “not spring [news] on them.” The source said some staffers could be notified in the next few days about their positions within the campaign. 

“In pushing to keep Secretary Castro’s critical voice in this race. Our campaign, like many others, will make adjustments in staffing and resources,” Sawyer Hackett, Castro’s national press secretary, told CNN. “This race is shifting as we speak, and Julián will continue to be fearless and defy expectations by making the most of our resources.” 

Castro will also devote more resources to two states with early primaries in 2020 in Nevada and Iowa, where staffers believe he could draw significant support among voters. He will reportedly pull away from New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Castro will also make a larger push in his home state of Texas, after fellow candidate Beto O’Rourke dropped out of the 2020 race Friday, CNN reported.

The former Housing and Urban Development secretary is also set to refocus his policy priorities on poverty, according to the outlet, an issue that has been core to his campaign since its start.

At the Liberty & Justice Celebration in Des Moines on Friday, Castro said, “Somewhere along the way in our country, we forgot to talk about the poor, to talk about the most vulnerable. We are great at talking about the middle class and we need to fight for the middle class… but we also need to fight for the poor and those who have the least, those who suffer the most.”

But Castro still has yet to qualify for the November Democratic debate. Although he as received the required number of donors to his campaign, he still must reach three percent in the necessary state or national polls, according to CNN.

The Hill has reached out to the Castro campaign for comment.