In this week’s Democratic debates, two Texan contenders went head to head in a clash on a number of issues, including how they would handle immigration.
Former Housing Secretary and San Antonio mayor Julián Castro won rave reviews for his performance with NBC declaring, “Julián Castro nabbed the debate spotlight. Now he has to keep it.”
Castro drew attention by taking the fight to former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke, saying that O’Rourke should have “done his homework” on the immigration issue. In a post-debate flash poll, Castro came in second after Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.
Meanwhile, The Texas Tribune called the Wednesday debate a “tough outing,” for O’Rourke, who also drew direct attacks from New York mayor Bill DeBlasio. O’Rourke’s campaign surrogates attributed the direct attacks to the fact that the young former is a frontrunner in the race.