Julian Castro suspends campaign for president

Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Former U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro announced Thursday he was suspending his campaign for the 2020 Democratic Party presidential nomination.

In a Twitter post, Castro, the only Latino candidate in the Democratic field, said he was "proud" of his year-long presidential bid.

"It's with profound gratitude to all of our supporters that I suspend my campaign for president today," Castro wrote.

In a video accompanying the post, he said, "I'm so proud of the campaign we've run together. We've shaped the conversation on so many important issues in this race, stood up for the most vulnerable people and given a voice to those who are most often forgotten."

But, he added, "with only a month until the Iowa caucuses and given the circumstances of this campaign season, I've determined that it simply isn't our time,"

Castro, 45, was one of more progressive candidates in the Democratic presidential field. The former mayor of San Antonio frequently concentrated on immigration policy and reforming the criminal justice system, which he criticized as unfairly targeting minorities.

He also was a staunch environmentalist and backed calls for "Medicare for all" proposals from the Democrats' progressive flank.

His campaign, however, never caught fire. His polling numbers rarely exceeded 2 percent in national or early-voting state surveys. He participated in the first four Democratic debates but was excluded from those thereafter.