<h4>By MIKE McCOMBS</h4>
Democratic Presidential candidate Julian Castro will visit Beaufort for a “meet and greet” at 9:30 a.m. Friday at the Beaufort County Black Chamber of Commerce at 711 Bladen Street.

The public is welcome and the candidate, according to a news release, wants to hear from the public about “your concerns for your family, our state and our nation.”

A "meet and greet" is a rare opportunity to speak directly to a candidate in an intimate setting.

A graduate of Stanford and Harvard Law School, Castro, the twin brother of Texas congressman Joaquin Castro, was mayor of San Antonio from 2009 to 2014, when he joined the cabinet of President Barack Obama as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

He was the youngest member of Obama’s cabinet.

While a supporter of the Paris Climate Accord and the Green New Deal, Castro has advocated in the past for an energy policy that includes fossil fuels. He supports Medicare for all and universal pre-kindergarten.

Castro is pro-choice and supports tighter gun control, particularly an assault weapons ban. He includes a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants as part of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comprehensive_Immigration_Reform_Act_of_2007">comprehensive immigration reform</a>.

Earlier this month, Castro purchased an ad on Fox News during the Fox and Friends show to speak directly to President Donald Trump about the mass shooting in El Paso.

Castro is qualified for the next Democratic debate, Sept. 12 in Houston.