When Democratic candidate Wendy Davis lost the gubernatorial election to Republican Greg Abbott in Texas in 2014, it didn’t surprise political pundits, particularly those on the conservative side. Many election experts said her campaign took the Latino voter for granted, which may have ultimately cost her the election. Findings from a poll – conducted by the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund/Latino Decisions earlier this month – that tracked and interviewed 500 registered Latino voters, show evidence that this segment of US voters is once again being pushed to the back burner by major campaigns, political parties, and funders.

“If we want to make significant progress increasing the number of Americans who vote, we cannot afford to have history keep repeating itself by continuously ignoring the nation’s second largest population group election cycle after election cycle. The time for change is now,” said Arturo Vargas, NALEO Educational Fund chief executive officer, in a report published by Latino Rebels.

In Texas, Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke, a politician and businessman from El Paso, is looking to unseat Republican Ted Cruz from the US Senate seat. O’Rourke – whose charisma and personality has been likened to the late New York Senator Bobby Kennedy, former president Barack Obama, and late Texas governor Ann Richards – may have taken some lessons from Davis’s failed campaign.

He’s led an unprecedented campaign, traveling to all Texas counties, even in rural areas where he will almost assuredly lose votes to incumbent Cruz, and engaged with constituents in town halls and other community events. That accessibility has not gone unnoticed, particularly by key Latino voters, including those who traditionally vote conservative or may be undecided.

By September 12, O’Rourke trailed Cruz by three points, according to a survey from Crosswind Media. He’s steadily closed the gap between the two that a September 19 poll of likely voters put him ahead – for the first time – by two percentage points. As Mother Jones put it, Cruz is in the “race of his life.”

As the election nears, we decided to talk to political experts and young activists engaged in Texas politics – specifically the Latino voter – about the top five reasons Latinos may lean toward O’Rourke. Here’s what they had to say.