The author of the best-seller Hillbilly Elegy, J.D. Vance , is now seriously considering a U.S. Senate run in Ohio and talking with Republicans in Washington, according to a BuzzFeed report.

Vance had previously ruled out a challenge to Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) this year. But then the front-runner in the GOP primary, Ohio state Treasurer Josh Mandel (R), dropped out of the race last week. Mandel cited his wifes health as his reason for withdrawing.

The phone hasnt stopped ringing since Friday, Vance adviser Jai Chabria told BuzzFeed.

The amount of support for J.D. Vance is incredible, Chabria said, seemingly already in campaign mode. People are starting to realize he has the best message to beat Sherrod Brown. J.D. is giving serious consideration toward this, because there are very serious people asking him to run.

Mandels withdrawal has left Republicans scrambling to find a strong replacement. They have hopes of picking up the Senate seat: President Donald Trump won Ohio by 8 percentage points in 2016, and Browns victory over Mandel in 2012 was the only statewide success for Democrats in more than a decade.