Stories by Noa Yadidi

Julián Castro on the issues, in under 500 words

Julián Castro speaks from behind a podium at a campaign event — Julián Castro. Photo: Edward A. Ornelas/Getty Images.

Julián Castro, the first Texas Democrat to run for president since 1976, is a former San Antonio mayor and the youngest cabinet secretary in the Obama administration. Castro was among those considered to be Hillary Clinton's vice president in 2016 and, while he didn't ultimately get the spot, he made frequent appearances with Clinton during the election.

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Key facts about Julián Castro:

Current position: N/a
Age: 44
Born: San Antonio
Undergraduate: Stanford University
Date candidacy announced: Jan. 12, 2019
Previous roles: Obama's Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Mayor of San Antonio, Member of San Antonio City Council

Julián Castro's stance on key issues:

Housing: Castro launched a plan in June to create more affordable housing and end homelessness, an effort to remind voters on his past experiences as HUD secretary.
Medicare for All: He supports it, saying at an event with Iowa Democrats that the U.S. should "be the healthiest nation," per the Hill.
Education: Castro released a plan that would create a universal pre-K program and create tuition-free public colleges, community colleges and technical and vocational programs. The universal pre-K program is mirrored would be funded by a grant program to state and local governments.
Immigration: In a Medium post, Castro outlined his extensive immigration policy, which includes reversing Trump policies such as the Muslim ban, spending on a southern border wall and cuts to refugee programs. Castro proposed a 21st Century Marshall Plan for Central America to focus on stabilizing the countries with the largest number of migrants coming to the U.S.

Castro wants an overhaul of the pathway to citizenship for immigrants, especially for DACA recipients.
Castro wants to split ICE in half, and keep "national security functions such as human and drug trafficking and anti-terrorism investigations within the Department of Homeland Security."

Abortion: "I believe in a woman's right to choose, it is an issue of reproductive freedom and justice," he said at "She the People Presidential Forum" in Houston in April.
Law enforcement: Castro has proposed a police reform plan to limit deadly force, end stop-and-frisk and demilitarize police.

Key criticism of Julián Castro:

Anonymity: Castro has a lower profile compared to some of the other Democrats who have thrown their names in the ring for president, admitting he isn't a "frontrunner in this race."
Progressive backlash: As HUD secretary, Castro faced criticism from a group of progressives — many of whom supported then-2016 candidate Bernie Sanders — over his handling of mortgage sales, Politico reported at the time. The groups launched a website called DontSellOurHomesToWallStreet.org.

1 fun thing about Julián Castro:

He is one minute older than his identical twin brother, Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas).

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Julián Castro

Noa YadidiMay 28, 2019

Kamala Harris on the issues, in under 500 words

Kamala Harris behind a podium at her campaign announcement — Kamala Harris. Photo: Mason Trinca/Getty Images

Democrat Kamala Harris is a California senator who came to office at the start of the Trump presidency and has become one of the most vocal foils for Trump's nominees through her heated questionings of them in confirmation hearings.

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Key facts about Kamala Harris:

Current position: Senator from California — 2 years served
Age: 54
Born: Oakland
Undergraduate: Howard University
Date candidacy announced: Jan. 21, 2019
% of votes in line with Trump, per FiveThirtyEight: 17.0%
Previous roles: California Attorney General (2011-2017), San Francisco District Attorney (2004-2011), prosecutor
Harris has has a considerable social presence, dominating the conversation on social media.

Kamala Harris' stance on key issues:

Green New Deal: She's among the list of 2020 hopefuls who signed on as a co-sponsor of the bill.
Medicare for All: She co-sponsored Sen. Bernie Sanders' bill.
Marijuana legalization: She's declared her support for legalizing marijuana at the federal level, admitting in an interview that she had smoked a joint "a long time ago." Signed on as a cosponsor of Cory Booker's Marijuana Justice Act to legalize weed at the federal level.
Teacher pay: Announced in March a plan to give the average teacher a $13,500 salary increase, which would cost an estimated $315 billion over 10 years.
Taxes: Last October, she introduced the LIFT the Middle Class Act which, Vox's Dylan Matthews explains, was basically an expansion of the earned income tax credit. Earlier that year, she proposed the Rent Relief Act, which would offer tax credits to help with rents.

In May, she said she would fully repeal the 2017 Republican tax law and replace it with LIFT.

Abortion: Proposed a plan to requiring states that want to restrict abortion to clear new reproductive health laws with the DOJ.
Sex work: Harris told The Root that she supports decriminalizing sex work, saying "we can't criminalize consensual behavior as long as no one is being harmed."
Death penalty: Harris has called for a national moratorium on the death penalty.
Guns: Harris is proposing banning the importation of AR-15-style assault weapons. She also suggested executive orders requiring background checks, closing the "boyfriend" loophole, and repealing a law that doesn't allow victims to hold gun manufactures responsible.

Key criticism of Kamala Harris:

Harris has faced criticism because of cases she argued and policies she put in place as California's attorney general.

She defended the death penalty as attorney general, despite being personally against it.
She stayed silent on a number of criminal justice reforms championed by progressives.
She didn't take a position on California Proposition 47, which was approved by voters, that reduced some felonies to misdemeanors.
She opposed a bill that would've required her office to investigate police shootings.

1 fun thing about Kamala Harris:

She is the first senator of Jamaican or Indian ancestry.

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Kamala Harris

Noa YadidiMay 9, 2019

Marianne Williamson on the issues, in under 500 words

Marianne Williamson speaks — Marianne Williamson. Photo: Ramesh Pathania/Mint via Getty Images

"New Age spiritual guru" Marianne Williamson, who has never before held public office, says she's running for president because the country is in need of a "moral and spiritual awakening." Williamson has penned 13 books, four of which have been New York Times number one bestsellers. She has officially qualified for the DNC debates, having reached 65,000 individual donors.

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Key facts about Williamson:

Current position: Spiritual leader, author and activist
Age: 66
Born: Houston
Undergraduate: Pomona College (left after 2 years)
Date candidacy announced: January 28, 2019
Previous roles: In 2014, Williamson ran as an independent in California's 33rd district congressional race and placed fourth out of 16 candidates, winning 13.2% of the vote.

Williamson's stance on key issues:

Health care: Supports a "Medicare for All model," according to her campaign website.
Education: Supports universal pre-school and free college.
Green New Deal: Supports.
Immigration: She supports DACA and a full path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants with no "serious criminal background."
Israeli-Palestinian peace process: "I don’t think the ultimate answer will be about settlements or checkpoints,” Williamson told a Jewish news site. "The work of the genuine peace builders must be on the level of the heart.” She added that the U.S. must return to "where it can be considered an honest broker" to play a useful role.
Reparations: In an interview with CNN, Williamson called for $100 billion to be paid to African Americans in reparations for slavery, with $10 billion per year distributed over 10 years.

Key criticism of Marianne Williamson:

Staff treatment: In a 1992 article, Williamson was criticized for her interpersonal skills and management style — a claim she acknowledged she could work on. At the time, she referred to herself as "the bitch for God."
Anonymity and inexperience: Williamson has never held public office before and has less name-recognition than many of her 2020 competitors.

1 fun thing about Marianne Williamson:

Williamson appeared many times on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," and was often called Oprah's spiritual adviser, according to Vox.

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Marianne Williamson