Castro's White House bid may be coming to an end -- but his story's not over

SAN DIEGO -- Julián Castro could lose his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination and still come out a "winner."

How is that? Because, as we learned as children on baseball diamonds and volleyball courts, what matters is how you play the game.

For Castro, the game is winding down. The former secretary of housing and urban development failed to meet the polling requirement to make it onstage for this week's MSNBC debate in Atlanta. Castro and top members of his campaign staff have, in the past, acknowledged that there is no path to the nomination for those who can't qualify for debates.

Running for president is one tough endeavor, and -- as you can see from the current occupant of the White House -- the best person doesn't always win. You sometimes come up short in fundraising, polls, votes or media attention.

Those things are connected. People are not going to waste their votes on someone who the media tells them can't win because they don't have enough funds on hand, and that lack of enthusiasm will show up in the polls.

Castro had to suffer the foolishness of white reporters confusing him with his twin brother, Joaquin, and repeatedly asking why, as a third-generation Mexican American, he didn't speak perfect Spanish. He had to deal with white commentators and columnists who said that he wanted an "open border" and criticized him for proposing that the United States "de-criminalize" authorized entry by immigrants. And he had to get past white pundits and political observers who -- in dealing with both Castro and Asian American businessman Andrew Yang -- couldn't seem get their heads around the concept that a nonwhite candidate who wasn't black might face challenges.

The discrimination was so subtle that you could miss it. Now we know why the two major parties have never put a Latino on a presidential ticket, let alone why the country has never elected a Latino to the Oval Office.

Even in 2020, you're almost certain to lose a White House bid if you're not a white male -- which remains the nation's most favored demographic.

It doesn't help the chances of nonwhite candidates that two of the whitest states -- Iowa and New Hampshire -- vote first and winnow the field.

Castro wants to change the order in which the states hold primaries. The current system dates back to 1972, which means it's two years older than he is. The candidate has not been afraid to point out -- even while stumping in Iowa or New Hampshire -- that the nation has changed a lot in the last few decades.

Just as Castro wasn't afraid to recite the names of African Americans and Latinos killed by police, take up the cause of the voiceless and downtrodden, and lead the discussion on homelessness, race and poverty -- the kinds of gritty topics that politicians don't like talking about.

Just as Castro wasn't afraid to scold former Rep. Robert Francis "Beto" O'Rourke for not doing his homework, poke at former Vice President Joe Biden for appearing foggy, and tell a NAACP audience -- in an apparent dig at South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg -- that Democrats shouldn't nominate someone who "can't appeal" to African Americans and Latinos.

Meanwhile, the media -- which is predominantly white -- have chosen their final four: Biden, Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.

For all the hubbub about the Democrats having the most diverse field of candidates in history, the party's primary leaderboard is as white as a winter's day in Des Moines or Manchester.

This fact did not escape Castro.

"If we're not going to fight for everybody having a place at the table, why the hell are we Democrats in the first place?" he told Rolling Stone magazine in explaining his proposal to shuffle the deck of primary states.

That can be read two different ways. Either Castro is asking why "we" Democrats don't fight for equal opportunity, or why "we" people of color still vote Democratic. Both are good questions.

As someone who has known Castro for more than 15 years, it's not easy for me to watch my friend approach the end of his quest, even as supporters beg him to stay in the race.

In politics, as in life, you don't always come out on top. Sometimes you lose. But that doesn't mean that, one day, people won't look back on you as a winner because of what you did and the dignity with which you did it.

Well played, Amigo. You may not make it to the White House this time. But, against long odds and a stacked deck, you made us proud.

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Ruben Navarrette's email address is ruben@rubennavarrette.com. His daily podcast, "Navarrette Nation," is available through every podcast app.