Less than 48 hours after announcing his campaign for U.S Senate, the Democratic El Paso Rep. Beto O’Rourke was already speaking at Scholz Garten vying for the votes of Austinites.

The congressman’s visit to the capital was only a brief stop on an ambitious statewide trip to each of Texas’ 254 counties to promote his platform, which has largely rested on his refusal to accept corporate money to execute his campaign.

“We’re not going to take a penny of corporate cash. We’re not going to be dependent on special interests,” O’Rourke said. “No one’s ever going to have to worry if I’m running for the people of Texas or the companies who have business before the congress. It’s always going to be for Texas.”

News organizations and notable politicians including the likes of U.S Sen. John Cornyn have speculated that O’Rourke is sure to lose against the more politically experienced Republican candidate Ted Cruz, but the El Paso native appears to be bent on the seat.

Despite the odds against him–– O’Rourke is going up against a 30-year-long streak of losses for the Democratic party in Texas— the self-declared underdog has committed himself to running with the hope that he is able to effect change on a national level.

“We’ve got a country with parts gripped by the paranoia and the fear and anxiety that emanated from that campaign and now controls that white house,” O’Rourke said. “It’s up to you and to me — and I’ll tell you, 30 hours ago in El Paso, Texas, I made my decision. We’re going to take this into our own hands and we’re going to decide that 2018 is our year.”

But to win the senate seat, O’Rourke is asking for more than votes from his constituents; he is asking for their faith.

“Can we do this?” O’Rourke asked a receptive crowd. “1988 was the last time this state sent a Democrat to the senate, named Lloyd Benson. And we believed before and we’ve had our hearts broken before, but can we believe again right now?”

Whether faith can win his campaign is uncertain.

But he and his supporters seem confident that his grassroots approach to campaigning will work in his favor rather than to his detriment.

“As far as running against Ted Cruz and winning, he’s doing it a different way. He’s not your typical politician. And I think that’s what it’s gonna take,” former Travis County Democratic Party Chairman Andy Brown said.

“I worked on Ann Richards campaign in 1994 and we basically lost every four years since then because we keep doing the same thing: we keep hiring expensive consultants, polling and sort of catering our campaigns to polls which obviously isn’t connecting with Texans,” Brown said. “I think Beto is doing what he did when he won his congressional race, and that’s doing what he thinks is right— talking to real Texans and running an actual campaign on ideas.”

Brown, who is friends with O’Rourke, helped organize an event at the Austin Motel on South Congress Ave., where the congressman met with constituents before heading to Scholz Garten.

He praised the candidate for not adhering to a traditional approach to the senate run.

“He doesn’t take PAC money, he’s super down-to-earth, very easy to talk to,” Brown said. “He’s a member of congress and he’s probably one of the easiest people I know to talk to, which is very rare for anyone in Congress.”

Strolling down South Congress between events, O’Rourke stressed the importance of young people getting politically involved and voting on the issues that matter to them.

He said that the success of his campaign would be entirely dependent on the electorate, more than a fifth of which is represented by the group of voters aged 18-29.

“A lot of young people are trying to figure out how to pay for school or whether they even want to go to school or what kind of job they’re going to have,” O’Rourke said.

“They don’t vote, politicians don’t talk to them, they don’t listen to them, they don’t reflect their concerns, and yet they have the most to gain or to lose based on the outcomes of these elections.”

“Young people can take over this country, take over this state, if they voted.”