AUSTIN -- A political action committee established last summer by former Obama cabinet secretary Julian Castro to support Democratic Party efforts to take control of the U.S. House and gain seats in state legislatures is now publicly launched.

On Monday, Castro told a reporter that the Opportunity First PAC is being publicly launched on Tuesday.

Castro, a former San Antonio mayor who headed the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under President Obama, earlier said the PAC will focus on securing Democratic control of the House, gaining seats in state legislatures for Democrats before the next round of redistricting in 2021 and prepping younger Democrats to run for office.

Castro frequently has been mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in 2020, and candidates considering a run for the nation's highest office often get involved in such mid-term election campaigns as a way to build political networks for their own future races.

Paperwork filed last year to establish the PAC lists Castro as president.

Castro, who made Hillary Clinton's short list for vice president in 2016, repeatedly has said he has not made a decision on a presidential run.

So far, the PAC has supported lawyer Colin Allred, a former HUD official who worked for Castro, as a Democratic challenger to incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions of Dallas, according to news reports.

It also backed two candidates who won their campaigns for seats in the Virginia General Assembly, earlier announcements show.

According to Politico, an online political news site, Castro also traveled last year to Georgia to help Democrat Jon Ossoff turn out voters ahead of a special House election there, and endorsed Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum's campaign for governor in Florida.