Former Obama administration official Julián Castro said he is "likely" to make a 2020 White House run, potentially adding another name to what will be a crowded field of Democratic candidates.
Castro, the former Mayor of San Antonio, Texas, served as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 2014 to 2017 and was frequently mentioned as a potential running mate for Hillary Clinton in 2016.
He told Rolling Stone he would take a closer look at the idea of running after the midterms but called himself "inclined" to do it.
"We’re going to take a long, hard look at what that kind of commitment would mean. And as I travel between now and Election Day, I’m getting a better and better sense of where the country is at. I don’t feel compelled to make a rushed decision," he said."
"However, I’m likely to do it," he added. "I have a strong vision for the country. I believe that our country’s going in the wrong direction and that it needs new leadership. I’ll make a final decision after November, but I’m inclined to do it."
Castro said Democrats could take a lesson from Clinton's surprising 2016 loss to President Donald Trump: Take nothing for granted.
"What we learned was that we can’t take anything for granted—that you have to campaign hard all the way through the finish line even in the states that you might think you have," he said. "I’m confident that in the 2020 cycle, Democrats are going to robustly campaign in every single state and not take anything for granted."
Were he to throw his name into the mix, he would join a list that could number as high as 20 to 25 people. Other prominent Democrats mulling a run include former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.), Sen. Cory Booker (D., N.J.), Sen. Kamala Harris (D., Calif.), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D., N.Y.), former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D.), former Attorney General Eric Holder, and attorney Michalel Avenatti.
"Each of the folks who has won as a Democrat in the modern era — whether it was Kennedy or Carter or Clinton or Obama — articulated a powerful vision for the future," Castro said. "The 2020 Democratic nominee will have to do that. You’re not going to get that outside of a presidential race. That kind of leadership is not necessarily going to come out of Washington, D.C."
Castro's twin brother is Rep. Joaquín Castro (D., Texas), a Democrat representing the 20th congressional district in Texas.