Former United States Representative Beto O’Rourke participates in the Next Gen Hot Ones event at the University of Houston on Wednesday, September 30, 2026 in Houston. | Matthew Guzman/The Cougar
Former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke visited campus on Sept. 30 with his organization Powered by People to speak with students about voter registration ahead of the upcoming midterm elections. In the evening, O’Rourke participated in a Hot Ones-style challenge in partnership with NextGenUH.
For their tabling event, Powered by People set up a pop-up tent alongside NextGen UH and the James Talarico Campaign.
Powered by People’s volunteers handed out ice cream to those who checked their registration status. Additionally, the Talarico Campaign gave candy and campaign merchandise to those who attended and checked out the booth.
“We try to offer students here an opportunity to be involved, volunteer, register folks to vote and assist them in making sure that they can actually exercise their right to determine the outcome of these elections,” O’Rourke said. “So hopefully we’re doing something that’s productive and provides community, too.”
O’Rourke has made his visits an annual event at UH and other campuses across Texas with Powered By People. However, this was O’Rourke’s first time doing a Hot Ones challenge.
“If your events are to come and listen to somebody lecture you, there’s a certain group that wants to do that,” O’Rourke said. “But if it’s like, ‘come watch this dude eat hot wings’, that brings in a different group that may not be as politically involved.”
This will be the only time O’Rourke does a Hot Ones challenge, as he hopes to keep it from becoming a gimmick.
Powered by People aims to keep students engaged in the upcoming midterm election rather than another Hot Ones contest.
“Early voting starts on October 19, runs to the 30, Election Day is November 3 and the deadline to register to vote is the fifth, so we really want to catch people before that Monday deadline,” said executive director of Powered By People Aimee Prudhomme.
The goal is to increase interest and turnout among young voters across all Texas campuses.
“In the last presidential election, 47.7% of us actually voted in our generation and who knows what could have happened if more of us would have voted,” said political science junior and president of NextGenUH Olivia Rodriguez. “If we can make as many efforts as possible to get as many people registered, we can increase the likelihood that more people will vote.”
Rodriguez hopes the younger mindset toward politics will change as a result of the day’s events.
“I believe we can make a change as this new generation,” Rodriguez said. “We can try to develop democracy into a more positive environment where people don’t have to be informed about everything, but at the same time they can still be involved.”
While it is important for a new generation to become involved, O’Rourke’s goal is to avoid alienating previous voters.
“I think part of what we suffer from in this country is we’ve kind of categorized and divided people based on these easy descriptions or their past voting history,” O’Rourke said.
To O’Rourke, it is imperative to give those who may not seem up to the challenge or are grouped into a certain demographic the chance to be seen and heard.
“In losing that opportunity, we’ve also lost a chance to persuade them or to engage with them,” O’Rourke said. “You really must try to treat everyone with respect and dignity and there’s no better way to show respect than to meet people where they are.”
Alongside initial interactions with people interested in getting involved, Powered By People plans to maintain a relationship with voters.
“The special thing that we do is we always ask permission to stay in touch with someone, to remind them to come out to vote,” Prudhomme said. “It’s not enough to register someone.”
Those who registered or confirmed that they were already registered were sent a text by the volunteer they spoke with, allowing them to be buddied up until the coming election.
The main idea is to be a friend to the students on each campus, so that their voice never dwindles, according to O’Rourke.
Voter registration efforts targeting young voters focus especially on helping them overcome any aversion they might have to the polarized nature of politics polarizing at such a heated moment in history
“You’re not only making sure folks are registered, you’re making sure that folks are informed, you’re making sure the voters can maybe get involved further than just going out and voting,” said political science senior and Talarico Campaign volunteer Jonathan Alvarenga.
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