COLUMBUS, Ind. — When you have the best known name in your congressional district and your younger brother is a heartbeat away from the presidency, it is difficult to run a stealth campaign. But Greg Pence is doing a pretty good job of it.

Mr. Pence has skipped candidate debates and declined to give interviews or release a public schedule, instead posting after-the-fact campaign snapshots on Twitter or Facebook, often smiling, wearing a red fleece vest with his name on it. His first television ad featured President Trump and did not mention his brother, Vice President Mike Pence.

His inspiration for running? “I looked in the mirror and said, ‘If not me, who?’” he told The Columbus Republic in February in the only extensive interview he has granted.

Hardball it is not. Legacy politics it is.

Hardly the first candidate to run on a famous name, Mr. Pence, 61, extols two central credentials in his House bid: his service in the Marines and his success as a business executive. But an examination of his record in business shows decidedly mixed results. He was the president of a convenience store chain — making key strategic decisions — that filed for bankruptcy protection and was assessed penalties of $8.4 million by the State of Indiana for environmental damage, caused primarily by leaking underground storage tanks.