AUSTIN, Texas _ Democratic U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro will not challenge incumbent GOP Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018, he said in an email sent to supporters and obtained by the Austin American-Statesman.
The news was first reported by the San Antonio Express-News.
The absence of Castro, one of the Texas Democratic Party's most highly touted politicians, likely clears the field for Democratic U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, who announced his bid for the Senate seat last month.
In his message to supporters, Castro wrote: "Over the last few months, I've traveled across our great state listening to Texans from every background and every walk of life. Along the way, I met incredible folks with important stories to tell. I've been inspired by their passion and their optimism.
"In every conversation, one thing was clear: Texans want a senator who will stand up for their families, not stand down to Donald Trump," said Castro, who concluded that he could best hold President Donald Trump to account with his position on two key committees.
Speculation about Castro's plans swirled for months as he openly considered challenging Cruz, the first-term incumbent who quickly became one of the polarizing figures in Washington after winning election in 2012.
"I think, in the end, this is probably a really smart choice," said Christian Archer, a San Antonio political consultant with deep ties to the Castro family. "People across the country see Joaquin Castro as a rising star, who can wait a decade and still be a young guy running for a higher office."
Longtime Democratic consultant George Shipley echoed Archer's sentiments.
"He did the right thing and made the right decision for the country," said Shipley, who is friends with both Castro and O'Rourke. "He put his job ahead of his personal ambitions."
Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa said that he believed Castro would have been "a formidable candidate against Mr. Cruz" _ and views him as someone who will run and win statewide office in Texas at some point.
"We know he would have been a great candidate," Hinojosa said. But he said, in O'Rourke "we have a great candidate right now who's out there who is drawing huge crowds all over the state of Texas," including parts of Texas where Democrats don't tend to draw huge crowds.
Hinojosa said O'Rourke, who has pledged to campaign in all 254 counties in Texas, drew some 350 people to a rally in Lubbock over the weekend and that he has been drawing many newcomers to politics to his events, which Hinojosa counted as a very good sign this far ahead of the 2018 election.
Castro is the product of a San Antonio political dynasty.
His mother, Rosie Castro, is a legendary political activist and organizer from the city's long-impoverished West Side. His brother, Julian, served on San Antonio's City Council and as its mayor before being appointed as the secretary for Housing and Urban Development by then-President Barack Obama.
Joaquin Castro first won election to the state House in 2002 and represented the city there for a decade before running to replace retiring Democratic U.S. Rep. Charlie Gonzalez _ himself the son of a prominent congressman _ in 2012.
"He will have other opportunities," Shipley said.
