FRISCO, Texas _ Former Housing Secretary Julian Castro, still riding high from last week's strong debate performance, made a bold prognostication.
"I believe that I can win Texas. I believe that I can win California too," Castro said Monday. "I see several of those Super Tuesday states as great pickup opportunities ... I like the map, once we get into that Super Tuesday stretch."
Talking to reporters after a town hall forum sponsored by the Frisco Democratic Club, Castro added Colorado as a state he could pick up on March 3.
"I don't think those states have ever seen a candidate like me," he said.
Performing well at a debate can bring confidence, and Castro has a bunch of it after he stunned rival presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke and caused a national audience to take notice at last week's debate. He clashed with O'Rourke on whether to remove a provision from immigration law that makes illegal entry into the country a civil violation, instead of a criminal act.
"I will not criminalize desperation," Castro said Monday.
Castro said his debate performance and subsequent bounce should not be a shock.
"The national media have always underestimated my campaign," Castro said. "What happened on the debate stage should not have been a surprise."
Castro on Monday was trying to keep the momentum by making appeals to voters in Frisco, part of a multicity swing through Texas.
He's expected to battle with O'Rourke, the former congressman from El Paso, and others for the large haul of delegates on tap for the Texas presidential primary. Castro's sudden popularity could boost his standing in the Lone Star State.
Over 300 people attended the event at Collin College, most of them Democrats hoping to turn Collin County blue.
The reliably red county has undergone demographic shifts in recent years, and in 2018 O'Rourke got 46% of the vote there in his Senate contest against Republican incumbent Ted Cruz.
"Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that Texas is going to be ground zero for the 2020 elections," said Frisco Democratic Club President Ira Bershad. "We feel that Frisco and North Texas and, in particular, Denton and Collin counties can help contribute to that."
Own Younger, an airline pilot from Frisco, agreed.
"With this presidential race and Donald Trump on the ballot, it's almost a perfect storm," he said.
Castro said that areas like Collin County was critical to the hopes of Democrats, local and nationally.
The former San Antonio mayor said suburban women were the key to victory in areas across the country. And he said he recognized how important it was to protect a woman's right to choose and that he would push for an Equal Rights Amendment.
"There are a lot of people who may have leaned Republican in the past that are much more open to voting for a Democrat," Castro said.
As for the hotly contested presidential race, Castro said his past executive experience _ being housing secretary and mayor of San Antonio_gives him an advantage.
"And then finally, I can win Texas," Castro said, adding that he could also beat incumbent Donald Trump in Michigan, Wisconsin and Florida.
But Castro has challenges ahead. He's still mired in the polls behind several front-runners. A CNN poll taken after the debate and released Monday showed him polling at 1%, down from 2% in the CNN poll a month earlier. He'll also have to fight hard to qualify for the round of debates that begin in September, when the party's standards for participation are tougher.
"We're doing what we can to make sure that I stay in the media spotlight and that I'm capitalizing on fundraising," Castro said. "I'm going to work hard every single day to make sure I get stronger and stronger in this campaign."
Heather Weathers, a Plano Democrat who says her list of favorite presidential candidates changes weekly, said Castro is a strong candidate.
"He's moved up the list for me," she said. "Right now it's Julian Castro and Kamala Harris."
