Castro hits Buttigieg over ‘bad track record with African Americans’

Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro took aim at South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) over his record on racial issues on Sunday.

At a press gaggle at the Warren County Democratic Party’s fall dinner, the former Obama administration official said that Buttigieg had a “bad track record with African Americans on the issues.”

{mosads}”Just look at his track record as mayor,” Castro added.

Castro’s campaign confirmed the former Housing and Urban Development secretary’s remarks when The Hill asked for comment, and pointed to remarks Castro made Saturday at the NAACP forum at Drake University in Des Moines in response to Buttigieg’s assertion that the Democratic primary was essentially a two-person race between himself and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

“Anyone who thinks this is a two-person race doesn’t know anything about the Black and Latino communities,” Castro said at the forum.

As @JulianCastro said, “Anyone who thinks this is a two-person race doesn’t know anything about the Black and Latino communities.” pic.twitter.com/FbSsmYCSNo

— Sawyer Hackett (@SawyerHackett) November 2, 2019

Buttigieg responded to Castro when prompted by CNN’s Abby Phillip, telling her: “That’s false. Look, our city has had a lot of challenges, but the black voters that know me best have returned me to office and supported me more the second time than the first.”

“And I would be happy to walk him around South Bend and introduce him to folks if he’d like to learn how we’ve tackled these really tough issues,” he added.

Pete Buttigieg responded to Castro’s charges he has a bad track record with African Americans, telling CNN’s @abbydphillip, “That’s false…I would be happy to walk him around South Bend and introduce him to folks if he’d like to learn how we tackled these really tough issues.” https://t.co/qom0kPXvmL pic.twitter.com/VtOYxIEU52

— DJ Judd (@DJJudd) November 3, 2019

The South Bend mayor has failed to gain traction among Democratic voters of color, particularly black voters, and has faced criticism for his response to a police shooting of an unarmed black man in the city.

A Washington Post-ABC News poll released Sunday showed Buttigieg making gains but still trailing former Vice President Joe Biden, Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

Updated at 12:46 a.m.