On Friday, Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro announced that his campaign raised the $800,000 necessary to keep him in the race.
“We’re going to keep pushing to make the debates and raise issues others won’t address. Thank you for your support,” Castro tweeted, noting that his campaign went beyond their goal and garnered more than $1 million for the month of October.
Castro told supporters on Oct. 21 that he needed to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars in 10 days or else he’d have “no choice but to end [his] race for president.” The warning caught the attention of nearly 50,000 donors, who helped the Mexican-American candidate achieve his highest fundraising day since August.
On Wednesday, his team hosted a call-a-thon that raised more than $100,000 that day alone. His cry for donations was boosted by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who although has endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders tweeted that Castro brought “a powerful presence” to the race, as well as Puerto Rican actress Justina Machado, who held a conference call with supporters on Thursday.
The funds will allow the former Secretary of House and Urban Development to focus on operations in battleground states, which his team hopes will bolster his place in the polls and help him qualify for the next two debates.
“Time and time again this campaign has defied expectations with the support of an army of dedicated, grassroots supporters,” campaign manager Maya Rupert said, according to Politico. “We set an extremely ambitious goal to keep Secretary Castro’s voice in this race, and our supporters met the challenge and delivered one of the best months of the campaign to date.”
Castro has until Nov. 13 to qualify for the Nov. 20 debate and until Dec. 12 to qualify for the debate on Dec. 19, which has even more stringent requirements.
“We’re not going anywhere — Julián will keep being a voice for the voiceless, and a champion for the Americans who have been left behind,” Rupert said. “We will keep lifting up important issues others choose to ignore, and demonstrating by example why Secretary Castro is the best candidate to take on Donald Trump.”
On Friday, fellow Texan contender Beto O’Rourke announced his decision to drop out of the 2020 presidential race.