Many left-wing personalities voiced concerns following Julián Castro’s departure from the Democrat primary, particularly about what they say is an increasingly white Democrat field.

The former Housing and Urban Development (HUD) secretary formally suspended his presidential campaign on Thursday after months of warning signals.

“It’s with profound gratitude to all of our supporters that I suspend my campaign for president today,” Castro announced on Twitter, promising to “keep fighting for an America where everyone counts”:

It’s with profound gratitude to all of our supporters that I suspend my campaign for president today. I’m so proud of everything we’ve accomplished together. I’m going to keep fighting for an America where everyone counts—I hope you’ll join me in that fight. pic.twitter.com/jXQLJa3AdC — Julián Castro (@JulianCastro) January 2, 2020

Several people utilized social media to voice concerns about the diminishing diversity of the Democrat primary field.

“This is unfortunate. Castro has experience, some great ideas and in an increasingly white field it’s encouraging to see a Latino candidate,” New York Times contributor Wajahat Ali wrote:

This is unfortunate. Castro has experience, some great ideas and in an increasingly white field it's encouraging to see a Latino candidate. https://t.co/bWDeLM6CK0 — Wajahat "Abu Khadija" Ali (@WajahatAli) January 2, 2020

“The big mistake Julian Castro made was not being almost 80 and a white dude in office for about a hundred years,” Democrat strategist Tom Watson remarked:

The big mistake Julian Castro made was not being almost 80 and a white dude in office for about a hundred years. — Tom Watson (@tomwatson) January 2, 2020

“Julian Castro got punished for criticizing Biden in a debate. Kamala Harris got punished for criticizing Biden. Cory Booker too,” activist-filmmaker Adam Best tweeted.

“Clear pattern of candidates of color facing consequences for daring to offer dissent towards an older white male who‘s been coronated the frontrunner,” he added:

Julian Castro got punished for criticizing Biden in a debate. Kamala Harris got punished for criticizing Biden. Cory Booker too. Clear pattern of candidates of color facing consequences for daring to offer dissent towards an older white male who‘s been coronated the frontrunner. — Adam Best (@adamcbest) January 2, 2020

“Julián Castro drops out. Depleting diversity in the Democratic presidential field,” NPR’s Matt Kwong observed:

Julián Castro drops out. Depleting diversity in the Democratic presidential field… https://t.co/YkibldPr0P — Matt Kwong (@matt_kwong) January 2, 2020

Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), who has remarked on the diminishing diversity within the Democrat field before, also blasted out an email, noting that Castro became the latest “person of color exiting a field of candidates that began as the most diverse in our nation’s history”:

Booker sends fundraising plea on Castro's exit from the race: "Julián Castro announced that he is ending his campaign for president — becoming yet another person of color exiting a field of candidates that began as the most diverse in our nation’s history." pic.twitter.com/bgiUOD1VEG — Alexandra Jaffe (@ajjaffe) January 2, 2020

“Watching white people completely invalidate everything about America by telling Julian Castro and Kamala Harris supporters that their candidates dropping out had ‘nothing to do with race’ is enraging,” philanthropist Frederick Joseph tweeted:

Watching white people completely invalidate everything about America by telling Julian Castro and Kamala Harris supporters that their candidates dropping out had “nothing to do with race” is enraging. — Frederick Joseph (@FredTJoseph) January 2, 2020

In another tweet, Joseph wrote, “In race where Pete Buttigieg is surging, there is no excuse for it other than race”:

Julian Castro and his team deserved better. They ran one of the most engaging and thoughtful campaigns of this election cycle. In a race where Pete Buttigieg is surging, there is no excuse for it other than race. #JulianCastro — Frederick Joseph (@FredTJoseph) January 2, 2020

Users peppered Twitter with similar reactions.

“We knew it was coming but it is still so sad. This whites only primary is problematic,” one user wrote.

“It must be said Julian Castro was blacked out, ignored, & erased by the white media establishment,” another added.

“The only reason Castro wasn’t a top tier candidate is because @cnn @MSNBC refused to cover his campaign in favor of 2 old white guys and one young white guy with no real experience,” another social media user mused.

More:

Julian Castro sincerely cared for how campaign would impact POC it appeared more any other candidate. Unfortunately Michael Avenatti saying @TIME interview October 25, 2018 only a white men can beat Trump was prophetic & disheartening b/c Democratic voters really believe that. https://t.co/gOVpPx6xx8 — (@exavierpope) January 2, 2020

Very saddened by this. I find myself losing interest in the Dems as this primary gets whiter. That #Castro couldnt find any footing in this election, when we need more diversity not less, disheartens me greatly. https://t.co/ObbX3nGNnt — Travis Hopson (@punchycritic) January 2, 2020

Castro is out. The Democratic primary even looks even less like our base than it did yesterday, and I hope to hell we don't end up with just three white guys vying for our nomination. — Melissa Ryan (@MelissaRyan) January 2, 2020

With the eventual Democratic candidate likely to be White, Castro should definitely be on the shortlist for VPOTUS alongside Stacey Abrams and Andrew Gillum. — Ibram X. Kendi (@DrIbram) January 2, 2020

Julián Castro dropped out of the 2020 primaries, leaving only 4 candidates of color in the race:

– Cory Booker

– Tulsi Gabbard

– Deval Patrick

– Andrew Yang None have qualified for the next debate — some because they haven't met poll requirements in mostly-white states. pic.twitter.com/MsPgxBc8aD — AJ+ (@ajplus) January 2, 2020

The diminishing diversity within the Democrat field has become a point of tension among Democrats, which reached a boiling point after Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) dropped out of the race and Booker and Castro failed to qualify for the December debate. Their absence resulted in almost all white candidates on the debate stage, with the exception of Andrew Yang (D).

Ironically, the top white candidates in the Democrat primary field have a history of racial gaffes — from Joe Biden’s (D) praise of segregationalist senators, Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-MA) false claims of Native American heritage, and former Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s odd comparison, attempting to connect to the black community by referencing his experience as a gay “stranger in [his] own country.”

The Castro campaign dispersed an email blast in November criticizing the mainstream media for focusing on the “four white frontrunners for president.”