MIDDLETOWN, Ohio J.D. Vance entered a brewery with a small child in one arm and another squeezing his hand.

The crowd inside was a decent size for pre-beer-drinking hours. But unlike the other stops on Vances No B.S. Tour (an unfortunate name mocked ruthlessly online), many people there didnt need to be convinced to vote for him in Ohios GOP Senate primary. As Vance made his way across the tasting room at FigLeaf Brewing Company, he was greeted by relatives who embraced him and scooped up his wandering children.

I decided to bring the boys up here because, one, I knew there would be at least someone to take care of them, and two, I figured my wife can enjoy the break, said Vance, who also has a newborn at home.

The stop on Saturday marked the Hillbilly Elegy authors first time hosting a political event in his hometown since his July campaign launch at a steel tubing factory here.

The warm reception he enjoys in Middletown the small southwest Ohio city thrust reluctantly into the spotlight as the setting for Vances memoir about growing up around poverty and addiction isnt what he can normally expect as the election approaches. Hes locked in a tight seven-way race for the GOP nomination to replace retiring Republican Rob Portman. In a state Trump carried twice, even Democrats privately concede that whoever wins the GOP nomination is favored to win the general election, making the primary especially cutthroat.

With big national name recognition from his book and its buzzed-about movie adaptation, Vance was expected to shake up the GOP field with star power and access to far-right activists and major donors. But with the primary less than four months away, he still hasnt popped in the polls a sign that maybe Vance isnt able to speak for the white working class on the political stage the way he did in his book.