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The candidate of Mexican origin and from a modest family, Julian Castro, here on CNN in Los Angeles, October 10, 2019. REUTERS / Mike Blake

A month before the first vote of the Democratic primary in Iowa (Caucus), a new nomination contestant decided, this Thursday, January 2, to stop his campaign. Julian Castro was the only Latin candidate in the race and the last Texan in the running.

With our correspondent in Houston, Thomas Harms

Former Secretary of Housing and the City of Barack Obama, Julian Castro was one of the first to announce his candidacy for the Democratic nomination 1 year ago. But the last polls gave him only 1% of voting intention and he had therefore failed to qualify for the televised debates in November and December last.

The former mayor of San Antonio announced his retirement in a video posted on Twitter:

It's with deep gratitude to all of our supporters that I suspend my campaign for president today.

I'm so proud of everything we've accomplished together. I'm going to keep fighting for an America where everyone counts — I hope you'll join me in that fight. pic.twitter.com/jXQLJa3AdC

Julián Castro (@JulianCastro) January 2, 2020

“ It is with a heavy heart, but with deep gratitude that I suspend my campaign today. I am so grateful to everyone who supported us. I haven't finished fighting. I will continue to work for a nation where everyone counts. "And he ends in Spanish:" one day we will win. "

Julian Castro put forward the protection of minorities. He notably pleaded to no longer criminalize illegal border crossings. He was also in favor of police reform, more investment in education and the fight against global warming.

We will also remember his exchange with Joe Biden during the debate in September. Castro asked him if he had forgotten what he had said 2 minutes earlier. A question that has been interpreted as an attack on his age and has resulted in Julian Castro losing several supporters.

After Beto O'Rourke's withdrawal from the race, Julian Castro was the last Texas representative in the Democratic primary.

Fourteen Democrats are still in the running for the nomination, but only five have so far qualified for the next televised debate on January 14: Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar.

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