If you tuned in to the first-ever virtual Democratic Convention, you may have noticed something strange. Not once was former Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro featured during the event, one already criticized for its utter lack of Latinx politicians.

Apart from Eva Longoria Bastón, who received acclaim for her job as the night’s presenter, Latinx representation was slim. It was made even more glaring once streamers noticed that the most prominent Latinx leader from the Democratic presidential campaign was missing.

News outlets had previously reported Julián Castro would be someone to look forward to, but on Aug.18, Castro told NPR he will not be participating in this year’s DNC, citing disappointment at the lack of diversity in this year’s lineup.

“You know, last week I saw the schedule. And out of the 35 primetime speakers, only three of them were Latino. There were no Native Americans, no Muslim Americans. And I said that was — I didn’t think that completely reflected this beautiful, diverse coalition,” Castro told NPR.

The NPR Report was published Monday afternoon, before the convention began. But still, hundreds took to Twitter to voice their incredulity at Castro’s missing presence — especially when a segment aired regarding the Democratic presidential campaign trail.

Over four minutes long, not once did it feature prominent candidate Julián Castro, who only dropped out of the race at the start of 2020, much longer after Kamala Harris.

“We often complain about our Latino service workers being “unseen” as they work hard in our fields, clean our hotels and cook our food,” wrote California Assemblywoman and California Latino Caucus Chair Lorena Gonzalez.

“We shouldn’t have to worry about our first and only major Presidential Candidate Julian Castro as going unseen as well. But, here we are,” Gonzalez continued.
 

Latinx voters will be the largest non-white voting demographic this election cycle, but the only way this statistic will prove monumental is if Latinx voters actually vote on election day.

Castro is working on making the Latinx vote even stronger through partnering with groups like Voto Latino, that are trying to get a record number of Latinx voters registered in swing states.

But it might not be enough if platforms like the DNC continue to view the demographic as an afterthought. 

“We could win in November, but you could see a potential slide of Latino support for Democrats, Castro said on Axios on HBO on Tuesday.

A warning, that has the potential to become realized, as the lack of Latinx voices at the DNC did not go unnoticed.

Castro did speak at the 2012 Democratic Convention, back when he was the United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under Obama.

But six years later, it is as if he was erased from the platform, highlighting the utter lack that the convention is trying to cover-up with a mere three Latinx voices.