All eyes are on Beto O’Rourke, and for good reason. Democrats have been hard-pressed for hope over the last two years, but O’Rourke’s fight to unseat incumbent Ted Cruz and become the next U.S. Senator from Texas has catapulted him to stardom on the left.

Cruz’s prominence within the GOP—and his divisive personality and policies—made this Senate race one to watch early on. It’s been an uphill battle from the start for O’Rourke, an El Paso native, as a Democrat hasn’t won a Senate seat from Texas in 30 years. The last time was when Lloyd Bentsen was re-elected in 1988.

But the Trump Era has scrambled the status quo, mobilizing the Democratic base just as demographic shifts in Texas begin to put the state in play. If there was ever a chance for Texas to go blue again, this is it.

O’Rourke’s campaign has been steadily picking up speed, with the latest polls (as of late August) placing him only one point behind Cruz. As November inches closer, O'Rourke's national profile continues to grow. The viral video of him answering a town hall question about why he supports NFL players peacefully protesting has been viewed more than 44 million times. The 45-year-old married father of three has been compared to the Kennedys and Barack Obama for the way his rhetoric is inspiring voters.

Here's what you should know about Texas’s potential new Senator and his campaign.

His campaign style is unusual for Texas.

Despite Texas being the second-most-populated state in the country, O’Rourke has made a concerted effort to carry out a grassroots-style campaign, visiting all of Texas’s 254 counties. He’s also announced that he won’t be accepting PAC money—from Political Action Committees—at any point during his campaign, whereas Cruz has received more than $705,000 to date from PACs for this election.

Being a political underdog isn't new for him.

After graduating from Columbia University and working in New York for a few years, O'Rourke returned home to El Paso. He started his own small tech business before deciding to run for El Paso City Council against a two-time incumbent in 2005. He won the election and then went on to serve two terms.

O'Rourke's first venture into national politics came when he ran against an eight-time incumbent in 2012 to become the U.S. Representative for Texas’ 16th congressional district, which encompasses El Paso and the surrounding areas. Using the same campaign tactics he's using for his current Senate race, he won and was re-elected twice, serving a total of three terms.

While in Congress, he's served on the House Committees for Veterans' Affairs and Armed Services and has focused on making sure veterans have access to benefits and healthcare.

The name "Beto" has caused some controversy.

A lot has been made about O'Rourke's nickname, Beto. Early on in the campaign, Cruz criticized O'Rourke (whose birth name is Robert) for going by a name that might make voters think he's Hispanic. O'Rourke, who is Irish-American, has brushed off any claims that he changed his name to deceive voters, saying that he's gone by Beto since childhood. Ted Cruz's legal name is Rafael Edward Cruz.

His past arrests have helped shape his campaign platform.

In 1995, O'Rourke was arrested for attempted forcible entry after jumping a fence at the University of Texas at El Paso, and then again in 1998 for drunk driving. The charges were dropped both times, but O'Rourke has been open about his prior run-ins with the law during his twenties. In an op-ed for the Houston Chronicle, he acknowledged that as a white man, the prison system worked in his favor, and he didn't face long-term consequences for his arrests the way a person of color might have.

A key issue he's focused on throughout his Senate campaign is the need for systemic criminal justice reform by eliminating private, for-profit prisons, ending mandatory minimum sentencing, and doing away with bail bonds that punish people for being poor.

He used to be in a punk rock band, which the Texas GOP has tried to use against him.

As a teenager, O'Rourke was a guitarist for an El Paso punk rock band named Foss (you can watch some of their performances here.) He told Town and Country that his experience touring with the band reminded him of his current Senate campaign.

Without being corny, there is something about what we’re doing now that really reminds me of that at its best,” he says. “A bunch of friends in a van…and we’ve got all our gear in here, and we’re just going from one town to the next, both telling our story and listening to and learning from other people’s stories.”

While some voters might say this makes him objectively better than most other politicians, the official Texas GOP Twitter account used old photos from his days in the band to try and undermine his credibility as a candidate.

This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

Maybe Beto can’t debate Ted Cruz because he already had plans... pic.twitter.com/LdqKTh3yK4 — Texas GOP (@TexasGOP) August 28, 2018

The Texas GOP account also tweeted out photos of O'Rourke with his skateboard in a strange effort to turn prospective voters against him.

This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

So Beto has been ducking debates with Senator Ted Cruz. We can't imagine why, but we do have a few ideas... pic.twitter.com/3n2HtwY9pQ — Texas GOP (@TexasGOP) August 28, 2018

Some were quick to point out that the Texas GOP was only highlighting qualities that make O'Rourke seem likable.

His campaign platform is a stark contrast to Cruz's.

Texan voters couldn't have two more different candidates to choose from in the midterms. On the polarizing issue of gun control, O'Rourke—who personally owns guns—has an "F" rating from the NRA, supports requiring background checks for all gun sales, and wants to ban weapons of war and high-capacity magazines. Cruz, on the other hand, has an "A+" rating from the NRA and has actively worked against any limits on access to guns.

Because of Texas' position on the Mexican border, immigration is a key issue in this race. O'Rourke opposes Trump's plan to build a wall at the border, supports passing the DREAM Act, and wants to end the militarization of our immigration enforcement system. On the other end of the spectrum, Cruz supports building a wall at the border and is in favor of strict sentencing for those who enter the country illegally.

As far as healthcare, O'Rourke supports universal healthcare coverage and improving the Affordable Care Act, while Cruz has made numerous efforts to repeal the ACA during his time as senator. He even led a doomed government shutdown with that aim.

Cruz's campaign website doesn't currently offer any future plans for creating more jobs, but O'Rourke is campaigning on increasing federal spending on infrastructure in order to create new construction and manufacturing jobs for Texans. O'Rourke also wants to invest in training, certification, and registered apprenticeship programs.

You can read more about O'Rourke's platform and how he plans to address other issues here. The contrast with Cruz's platform couldn't be starker for Texans, who will go to the polls November 6.

Elena Hilton Elena Hilton is the assistant editor for Esquire.com, where she manages Esquire's social media and writes about culture and politics.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io