Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro endorsed Sen. Elizabeth Warren for president on Monday, days after dropping out of the Democratic primary race.
"There's one candidate I see who's unafraid to fight like hell to make sure America's promise will be there for everyone. Who will make sure that no matter where you live in America or where your family came from in the world, you will have a path for opportunity to," Castro said in a video posted to Twitter.
"That's why I'm proud to endorse Elizabeth Warren for president," he said.
Castro left the race on Tuesday after lagging in the polls and failing to keep up with rivals' fundraising efforts. He consistently polled below 2% in national surveys.
The progressive former Obama Cabinet secretary did roll out a slate of ambitious policy proposals, some that inspired other candidates to address topics that were otherwise unlikely to come up.
His call for the repeal of a provision of immigration law that makes it a misdemeanor to cross the U.S. border illegally, known as Section 1325, brought other contenders to his side.
"Nobody is working harder than you are, not only in meeting with people, but in listening to people. And also, bringing the goods, and saying, 'OK, this is what I'm going to do about it,'" Castro says to Warren in the video, which shows the two Democrats at a kitchen table.
"The thing I hear the most from the people in the selfie lines is hope," Warren responds.
The Massachusetts senator wrote in a tweet Monday that Castro had been "a powerful voice for bold, progressive change and I'm honored to have your support."
"Together, we'll fight to make sure every single family in America has a path to opportunity," she wrote.
Castro was the only Latino in the Democratic primary race.
Voting in the primary contests begins in less than a month, with the Iowa caucuses kicking off on Feb. 3. Warren has declined in national polls to third place, behind former Vice President Joe Biden and fellow Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., after reaching a peak in early October.
Few of the other candidates who have exited the race, including Sens. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, have endorsed someone yet. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, who left the race in October, endorsed Biden the following month.
