Shared from the 6/27/2019 Houston Chronicle eEdition

ELECTION 2020

CASTRO, O’ROURKE CLASH IN DEBATE

Former San Antonio mayor breaks out during immigration discussion as El Paso ex-congressman struggles sparring against Democratic rivals

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Jim Watson / AFP/Getty Images

Julian Castro proved he could hold his own against the likes of New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and Sen. Elizabeth Warren in the first Democratic primary debate Wednesday in Miami.

Nine months ago, Beto O’Rourke and Julián Castro were campaigning together and sharing jokes on a road trip to the Rio Grande Valley.

But on Wednesday they were unquestionably adversaries as Castro took his case for the White House straight at O’Rourke, interrupting him during his answers and accusing him on the stage of not doing his homework on immigration, the issue O’Rourke has made a centerpiece of his campaign.

“Don’t criminalize desperation,” Castro said, challenging O’Rourke and others on stage to join him in his call to decriminalize most border crossings by repealing a provision of federal law.

O’Rourke said he authored legislation so asylum seekers and refugees wouldn’t be criminalized. Castro said that doesn’t go far enough.

“If you did your homework on this issue, you would know that you can repeal this section,” said Castro, adding that it’s the section of federal immigration law that President Donald Trump has been using to separate asylum-seeking families at the U.S.-Mexico border.

“I just think it’s a mistake, Beto, it’s a mistake,” Castro said.

The first 2020 Democratic presidential debate was full of rapid-fire exchanges, and it wasn’t just Castro trying to challenge O’Rourke — who has early public polling. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio also fired shots at O’Rourke for calling for health care reforms that would allow people who have private insurance to keep it. DeBlasio, who wants to eliminate the private insurance industry, interrupted O’Rourke during his answer on the issue.

Clockwise from top left: Bill de Blasio, Cory Booker, John Delaney, Tulsi Gabbard, Beto O’Rourke, Elizabeth Warren, Tim Ryan, Amy Klobuchar, Jay Inslee and Julián Castro.

“Private insurance is not working for tens of millions of Americans,” De Blasio said. “Why are you defending private insurance?”

But it was Castro who brought the sharpest exchange with O’Rourke knowing that his campaign needs a boost if he is going to remain a major candidate. Future debates in the fall require candidates to hit 2 percent in four recognized polls, something Castro has so far failed to do, but O’Rourke has consistently hit.

“I’ll be honest,” Castro wrote in a fundraising appeal minutes before the debate, “tonight is the single biggest defining moment of my campaign.”

Castro made the most of it, jabbing at O’Rourke but also working in his own history as the mayor of San Antonio, noting that he was one of the few candidates on stage with executive branch experience.

Eleven minutes into the debate, Castro used his first speaking opportunity to offer his story of growing up with his brother in the home of a single parent: “I know what it’s like to struggle. I know what it’s like to rent a home and to worry about whether you’re going to be able to pay the rent at the first of the month and to see a mom work very, very hard and to know that moms are going to be paid less just because they’re women.”

Castro segued to his first applause line when he called for passage of the Equal Rights Amendment — which has failed over the years to achieve passage in 38 states to become part of the Constitution.

The shots at O’Rourke were expected. With him and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., as the only two front-runners on the stage, candidates struggling to hit 2 percent in the polls or match O’Rourke’s fundraising were certain to be looking to make a moment to prove they belong in the upper tiers.

For O’Rourke, it was another debate in which he didn’t look fully comfortable and struggled to bring his free-wheeling campaign style that had launched him into the national conversation in the first place.

On his first two questions of the night, moderators had to re-ask their questions after O’Rourke didn’t fully answer either. Instead, O’Rourke gave broad policy outlines rather than specific answers.

When asked if he would support a 70 percent marginal tax rate on people making over $10 million of income as championed by Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, O’Rourke never said if he did or not, but generally said the nation needs a “tax rate and tax code that is fair to everyone.”

Ducking questions was a common tactic in the debate, and Castro got into the act when asked about the federal government’s financial responsibility in moving people from disaster-prone areas.

Castro responded to the question by saying that his first trip after declaring his candidacy on Jan 12 was to Puerto Rico — an appeal for Latino support — and noted that he was one of few candidates on the stage with executive experience, first as mayor of San Antonio and then as housing secretary in the Obama administration.

Back in September, Castro and O’Rourke were on the same team traveling through South Texas hoping to give O’Rourke an extra boost to defeat Cruz.

At one point as they traveled to Brownsville, Castro looks straight into the camera and talks about how something special is going on with O’Rourke’s campaign.

Wednesday wasn’t the first time O’Rourke has struggled in a debate — he had similar results in that 2018 campaign. After his first debate against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, O’Rourke was criticized for not challenging Cruz enough and failing to connect more with viewers.

The debates continue on Thursday at 8 p.m. with frontrunners former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders among the 10 candidates competing.

Allie Morris and Bill Lambrecht contributed to this report. jeremy.wallace@chron.com

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