Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX) pulled his endorsement of 2020 Democratic candidate Julian Castro on Sunday and announced that he was backing Castro’s 2020 rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, instead.
Gonzalez told CNN’s “State of the Union” host Jake Tapper that he was switching his endorsements in the name of party unity.
“I think at this point in time, we need to narrow the field and unite as Democrats to defeat Trump in November 2020,” the Texas Democrat said. “And that’s why I believe I’m moving my support to Vice President Joe Biden.”
Gonzalez told Tapper that his decision was unrelated to Castro’s jab at Biden’s memory strength during the debate earlier this week, saying that “everyone has their own style on the debate stage.”
Rather, Gonzalez said, it’s about helping to prevent party infighting that could damage the Democrats’ efforts to win the White House.
“If you’re polling in the low single-digits and you’re not raising any resources, and you’re fracturing your party and you’re just getting your supporters to be upset at other candidates, it certainly can’t be a good thing for our party,” he said.
Castro’s campaign responded in a statement saying that Gonzalez is “entitled to endorse whichever candidate he feels represents his values.”
Watch Gonzelez’s interview on CNN’s site.
