Julián Castro is having a post-debate bump — or at least his campaign is acting like it

2020 Democrat Julián Castro is trying to have a moment.

The former Housing and Urban Development secretary had a standout showing in the first round of Democratic debates, but it didn't exactly translate into a massive polling spike. Yet Castro's campaign still announced a slew of new staff hires on Thursday, Politico reports, and it seems to be a sign that he's still considering the debates a win.

Castro has remained along the bottom of the primary pack since his entrance into the 2020 race, though he didn't seem to have trouble securing the polling and donation thresholds to make the debate stage. He has also reached the 2% polling threshold in three of the four polls required to appear in September's debate, Castro's campaign press secretary also said in a Thursday tweet. Still, RealClearPolitics shows Castro's polling average remains stuck at 1%, while Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif) saw an 8-point polling bump after her debate performance.

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Yet that dismal total doesn't seem to be discourage Castro, whose campaign revealed more than a dozen new hires and promotions on Thursday. Among them are new communications directors at Castro's San Antonio headquarters and organizing directors for South Carolina and Nevada, whose hires are probably funded by the $1 million Castro brought in the days after the June debates. Read about all of Castro's new staffers at Politico.