Julián Castro tells NBC he has 'every interest in running' for president in 2020

Former Housing and Urban Development secretary and San Antonio mayor Julián Castro told NBC News he has "every interest in running" for president come 2020.

Further fanning rumors is his planned speech at the New Hampshire Young Democrats Granite Slate Awards later this month, where he is being touted as "a national rising star of the Democratic Party."

New Hampshire is the second state to vote in the presidential primaries each year, following Iowa.

"Part of the process of figuring out whether I'm going to run is going to listen to folks and feel the temperature of voters," Castro said.

Since Castro was rumored to be on Hillary Clinton's short list for vice president during the 2016 election, speculation on the San Antonio native's presidential aspirations have run rampant. In August Castro stoked that fire by forming a political action committee titled "Opportunity First."

According to the Federal Election Commission's website, the PAC has raised $36,250 since it was formed.

He later teased an Austin crowd in November saying he "might" make a run for president. Since leaving the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Castro has used social media to speak out against President Trump and his policies.

"We've had too much lying out of the White House," he said in Austin.

Speaking with NBC News, Castro said his 2018 focus would be on getting "great young progressive candidates" elected.

Castro's twin brother, U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, is also a frequent mention in the rumor mill. With no big Democrat name running against Gov. Greg Abbott in Texas this year, many thought Joaquin Castro might throw his hat into that ring.

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