Juli谩n Castro is the first Democrat to for the 2020 presidential nomination. While others are expected to quickly follow, he鈥檚 got a few days鈥� head start to make his mark on the field.
So, what are Castro鈥檚 top campaign issues? Let鈥檚 start at the top.
Presidential candidates always have a couple of big issues to talk about during their hundreds of campaign stops, but there鈥檚 usually one issue that becomes a signature goal.
During the 2012 campaign, for example, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry . In 2016, Sen. Ted Cruz said his top priority was . And then, of course, there was candidate Donald Trump鈥檚 rally cry: Make America great again.
is leading with a signature achievement from his time as San Antonio mayor: full-day pre-kindergarten. During his speech Saturday, the pre-K program was not only his first campaign promise, but speakers before him also focused on it.
Soon after he was elected mayor, Castro pushed for a local sales tax increase to pay for the program. Now he wants to push it nationwide.
鈥淗ere in San Antonio I made happen,鈥� Castro said during the speech. 鈥淎s president, I鈥檒l make pre-K for the USA happen.鈥�
From Obamacare, to the fight to protect Obamacare, to what鈥檚 next after President Trump weakened Obamacare 鈥� Democrats can鈥檛 run for any office without talking about how they鈥檒l improve the country鈥檚 health care system. Castro has started his campaign by condemning the influence pharmaceutical and insurance companies have on health care costs.
He鈥檚 embracing a position that has become more common among Democrats with presidential ambitions.
鈥淢edicare should be there for everybody in this country,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 time for Medicare for all, universal health care for every single American.鈥�
Now he鈥檚 only delivered one speech, but the topic that got the loudest response from the crowd in San Antonio was criminal justice reform.
Castro said too many people of color have negative interactions with police. If law enforcement could arrest the white killer in the at Emanuel AME church in Charleston, S.C., without hurting him, he said, 鈥渢hen don鈥檛 tell me that Michael Brown and Tamir Rice and Aiyana Jones and Eric Garner and Jason Pero and Stephon Clark and Sandra Bland shouldn鈥檛 still be alive today.鈥�
His supporters cheered louder with each name.
Castro also talked about other criminal justice issues, like changing the nation鈥檚 bail system so that low-income Americans aren鈥檛 forced to sit in jail for being accused of a crime, while the wealthy can avoid incarceration.
Castro, and all the other candidates who enter the 2020 race, will have to balance campaign messages about what he wants to do in office without always pivoting to what the president is doing wrong.
But on immigration, it's an easy pivot.
President Trump has made securing the border and limiting illegal and legal immigration the keystone of his administration, and Democrats are happy to point this out.
Castro鈥檚 immigration plan includes more help for people seeking asylum in the U.S. and a major rewrite of the country's immigration system. And yes 鈥� he included some criticism for Trump on Saturday when talking about the president鈥檚 immigration solutions.
鈥淭here is no way in hell that caging babies is a smart or a good or a right way to do it,鈥� Castro said.
While Castro is known in Texas for being the mayor of San Antonio, he was also the secretary of under President Obama. So it鈥檚 probably no surprise that he鈥檚 pushing an issue he worked on in Washington. He wants to focus on housing affordability, which he says is a crisis across the country.
鈥淏ut you know what, you hardly ever hear about that in politics,鈥� Castro said during his speech. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 going to change. We will invest in housing that鈥檚 affordable to the middle class and to the poor.鈥�
It鈥檚 common for presidential candidates to make a pledge about what their first action in office will be. For Castro, it鈥檚 all about climate change.
He said would immediately sign an executive order to recommit the U.S. to the .
鈥淒on鈥檛 let anyone tell you that we have to choose between growing our economy and protecting our planet. We can fight climate change and create great jobs here in America,鈥� Castro said.
Now these aren鈥檛 the only six things Castro will talk about when stopping at diners and coffee shops Iowa and New Hampshire. A successful campaign will allow current events to dictate the topics of the day. Even audience reaction can make a campaign shuffle the deck.
In his first campaign event, Castro led with pre-K, but if something else 鈥� maybe immigration or criminal justice, keep getting the biggest cheers 鈥� don鈥檛 be surprised if one of those jumps to the top of his speeches.
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