Julian Castro Wins Hispanic Group’s Endorsement For VP: Will Hillary Clinton Take The Hint?

The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce pulled a unique political move on Saturday, endorsing Julian Castro as the next Vice President of the U.S. That’s right, vice president. The announcement may pressure Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to validate speculations by the press and satisfy expectation from the Mexican-American community by choosing Castro as her running mate. Castro, 41, is currently Obama’s Sec. of Housing and Urban Development and was an early endorser of Hillary Clinton for president. The Chamber wants Castro in the White House, and Castro wants Clinton win.

The Chamber endorsement surprised political observers for two reasons. First, picking a VP instead of the top of the ticket is unprecedented. Second, the conservative Hispanic organization broke from a decades-long tradition of endorsing Republican candidates. Over 4 million businesses are represented by the Hispanic Chamber of commerce, a large electoral carrot for Clinton, Bernie Sanders, or whomever is willing to sign on Castro to a ticket in the general election. For now, HCC spokesperson Javier Palomarez tells Politico that the group will “wait and see where things land” before endorsing a presidential candidate.

Adding Vice President to Castro’s resume short would position him to become the strongest Mexican-American candidate in history. Mexican-American diplomat and former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson ran for president in 2008. His later nomination to an Obama cabinet post was squashed due to corruption allegations. Susana Martinez, New Mexico’s current chief executive and the country’s first Latina Gov. is a rising star in the Republican party. However, talk of her potential as a VP pick or future presidential candidate has quited following a drunken party in which she harassed police officer.

The message seems to be clear to Democrats: you better have a Latino on the ticket, or else. Clinton has hinted at choosing Castro as her VP if she wins the nomination, but such an announcement isn’t guaranteed, nor would it happen soon. Locked in a primary battle with lefter-of-center candidate Sanders, Clinton is favored but far from guaranteed to win the Democratic nomination. Castro has not publically accepted the possibility that is the likely Clinton pick, and has tried to stay out of his potential future boss’ way.

"I'm focused completely on being supportive of Hillary. There's a Democratic primary," Castro told the Texas Tribune on Sunday. "I don't believe that that's going to happen, and I've said that."

Castro first rose to political prominence as the mayor of San Antonio and gained a national profile with a keynote speech at the 2012 Democratic convention. Barack Obama and Susana Martinez became household names in similar convention speeches (he in 2004, she in 2012).