But those images belie the struggles he’s facing: spending money more quickly than he is raising it, polling nationally between 1 percent and 3 percent in the past month, and trying to convince voters he has the experience and vision to be president. After a first debate appearance that raised alarm among his major donors, there is ever-increasing pressure on O’Rourke to shine at Tuesday’s debate and remind Democrats why so many thought he could be a front-runner just a few months ago.

O’Rourke says he is now taking an approach of “me being me,” and he has been hyper-focused on the immigration crisis that has so much resonance in his hometown of El Paso — while spending less time talking about his previous leading issue, climate change.

In the month since the first debate, O’Rourke has visited three detention centers housing migrants, held a rally outside a Border Patrol station, traveled to Mexico to meet with asylum seekers, volunteered at a shelter for migrants in El Paso, held immigration-focused events in New Hampshire and Tennessee, attended a “Lights for Liberty” vigil for migrants in New Hampshire, and visited Ellis Island with his wife. As he took the stage at the NAACP convention in Detroit on Wednesday, O’Rourke proclaimed: “¡Buenos días!”