Julián Castro takes on Iowa as first primary state in the nation

After leading the charge on changing the U.S. primary system to better reflect the nation’s diversity, former Obama-era HUD Secretary Julián Castro is slated to be a guest speaker at the Johnson, Rayburn, Richards (JRR) Dinner, a major annual fundraising event for Harris County area Democrats.

Castro dropped out earlier this year after struggling to gain traction in early primary states like Iowa. Before exiting the race, he was a vocal critic of the influence majority-white states held on the election process.

“We can’t as a Democratic Party, continually and justifiably complain about Republicans who suppress the vote of people of color, and then turn around and start our nominating contest in two states, that even though they take their role seriously, hardly have any people of color,” Castro said last year. 

Castro, who endorsed and has campaigned for Sen. Elizabeth Warren since leaving the race, again doubled down on his criticism following Iowa’s caucus debacle on Monday evening.

While Castro hasn’t hinted at his political plans, Lone Star State voters can only hope he continues pressuring Democratic leaders into giving diverse, larger states like Texas a more pivotal role in the Democratic primary process.

In their announcement of Castro as guest speaker for the county’s biggest Democratic fundraising event of the year, Harris County Democrats praised Castro for elevating “the voices of those traditionally left out of the conversation.”

Castro, along with Michael Bloomberg, is scheduled to speak at JRR next week. Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee and Al Green,  and other local Democrats will be attending.

Photo by Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images