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The skate challenger in the fast-food parkings and wears his shirttails on scruffy jeans. He sang in a punk band. Some of his campaign events include bounce houses.
The holder usually wears a dark blue suit with a red tie. The word "freedom" is widely used in his campaign documents.
The two candidates are courting young voters in the red state of Texas who, while support for Democrats is strengthening, could become purple.
But will Democratic Beto O'Rourke, 45, a three-year-old US Congressman, beat Republican Ted Cruz, 47, US Senator, in November?
According to a study by the Pew Research Center in June, baby boomers have only recently become the largest generation of voters in the United States.
O'Rourke has energized a younger generation of Democratic voters in the former Republican state by focusing on topics and behaviors that affect them. The race has tightened in recent weeks after Cruz, who ran for president in 2016, quickly took the lead.
Last week, a Quinnipiac University poll revealed that Cruz was leading O & Rourke by 9 percentage points among likely voters. An online poll conducted by Reuters-Ipsos showed O & # Rourke 2 points in advance. Last Friday in Dallas, Cruz and O & Rourke participated in the first of three scheduled debates. Political analysts call the race on the rise.
O'Rourke, a former businessman, is a different candidate in many ways. His campaign does not accept money from political action committees (PAC) and has raised $ 26 million in individual donations between January 1 and June 31, an additional $ 8 million than his opponent.
"Do not take cap, do not take money from the company, is really attractive to people," said Clara Goodwin, a 25-year-old Houston campaign volunteer. "Many people my age feel we do not have a lot of voice, and that's partly because politicians listen to corporate interests more than us."
This admission was a revelation for O 'Rourke.
"I was surprised to learn repeatedly from young people that the fact that we were not taking money from the political action committee – no business help, no special interest contribution – is why they are part of this campaign. " told VOA at the opening of its campaign headquarters in Houston, a festive event filled with 20 volunteer volunteers who ate barbecue and registered voters.
In simple terms, CAPs are financial contributions pooled by donors that are used to elect and defeat candidates or laws. Since the 2010 Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Canada (no. Federal Elections Commission, companies banned from direct donations to campaigns are allowed to contribute through the CAP.
"Show up" for young people
O 'Rourke said the fact that he "shows where the young are" is more important than the way he raises campaign funds.
"I would never ask a young person to vote for anyone if nobody came forward to ask what he thought, what is important to them, to hear about the country's most important issues," he said. he declares. his campaign has made many events in universities across the state.
Cruz has also attracted young fans who come to hear his message.
Karl Schmidt, a 19-year-old Cruz volunteer, said that he had supported the outgoing Senator since he had spoken at his high school in 2014.
"The first time I met him, he came into my high school, and he really felt like a real guy, you know?" Schmidt told VOA after controlling a crowd of Houston Cruz fans .
Schmidt said he was more concerned about tax reform and health care, by specifically opposing the Obama-era Affordable Care Act, as these issues had the most affected his family. He said that Cruz's plan for tax policy and health care best fits his views.
A deep fracture on taxes, health care and the economy
Cruz supported the $ 1 trillion tax break for Republicans and drafted a bill that would make these tax cuts permanent. He defended Republican efforts to repeal the ACA, popularly known as Obamacare, and called for "significant reforms" to the US health care system, including expanding the accounts. saving and allowing the sale of health insurance.
O'Rourke opposed tax cuts and focused on job creation through increased spending on infrastructure and apprenticeship programs, government deregulation and expansion broadband services in rural areas. He is supportive of strengthening the ACA, extending Medicaid to more low-income Texans and creating a universal health care program in the United States.
Despite Cruz's reputation as a divisional politician who is unpopular on Capitol Hill, some young voters say he loves his proposal to increase economic growth through a bill he introduced in 2015 called American Energy Renaissance. Act. The legislation aims to remove federal restrictions on energy production and create jobs.
Young supporters of Cruz also applaud his calls for spending cuts in Washington, which they say take precedence over social issues.
Max Louman, 21, a student at New York University, said he was "more of an economic voter" and that he would support Cruz in the mid-term elections, even if he is not agree with all Cruz's positions on social issues.
"I believe that republican economic policy encourages more growth," said Louman, after attending a meeting of the Cruz City Hall.
According to Pew Research, the economy, terrorism, foreign policy and health care, in this order, were the main voting topics for all voters in 2016.
Like Louman, Cruz said he thought his economic and republican policies were ultimately better for young people.
"The agenda of the left, the socialist agenda, is absolutely devastating for young people," Cruz told VOA.
O & # 39; Rourke cited a number of issues that he believes are important for young people.
"Make sure the internet is open and working for everyone, regardless of your ability to pay," he said, referring to network neutrality. "Make sure we have universal health care or make sure we deliver on our promise to lead the conversation on immigration or end armed violence in our schools and in our communities."
Power of the vote
Regardless of the political party, many young people advocate open discussion and voting. According to data from the US Census Bureau, only 51% of Generation Y members, born between 1981 and 1996, voted in the 2016 elections, compared to 61% of the general electorate.
Elvonte Patton, 29, a resident of Houston, has created The Young and the Politics, a non-partisan political organization that encourages youth to register to vote.
"Go exercise your right to vote. That's all that matters to me, "he told VOA at a local O'Rourke rally where his organization registered new voters. In March, Patton went on to sit on the Harris County School Board and was defeated in the Democratic primary.
The supporter of Cruz, Schmidt, said his friends were too young to vote in the last election of 2016. This time, he said, he "will certainly ensure that all my friends go out to vote."
"I think young people will predict this race," said Patton, who said he is confident that voter turnout, especially among youth, will increase during the mid-term elections of 2018. "Honestly, for whom young people are going to vote is who will win this race, "he said.
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