Read: Is there any hope of fixing the Republican debates?

They landed on Gravel, and set about persuading him to run, starting with a phone call on March 14. Gravel was understandably skeptical. Not only is he nearing his 90s, but he was living a pleasant life with his family, and working on a book about his idea to amend the Constitution to create a “Legislature of the People” that would bypass an atrophied Congress. But Oks and Williams convinced him. First, he was impressed that they were familiar with his reform idea. Second, they assured him that he wouldn’t have to travel—except to the debates if he qualifies—and that he wouldn’t have to give many interviews. It would be a reprise of William McKinley’s successful front-porch campaign in 1896, in which the Republican stayed at home in Canton, Ohio, rather than barnstorm. Gravel agreed to sign on, and he even starred in an updated version of his viral video.

There are, naturally, some significant differences between the McKinley campaign and Gravel’s. Whereas McKinley is famous for embracing American imperialism, the Gravel campaign rails against it. And whereas McKinley could sit back while his moneyman, Mark Hanna, collected funds from corporate interests, Gravel’s campaign is trying to raise as little as it can while still reaching the 65,000-donor mark. (The Gravel campaign said Monday that it had passed 8,000 donors.)

“We don’t really need the money,” Oks told me. “We’re not employing any consultants. We don’t want people to give their last dollar to us.”

Nor did McKinley have Twitter, but the social-media platform has been the nascent Gravel campaign’s most potent tool so far, with a spicy account and a clever hashtag: #gravelanche (sample zings: “The Beto campaign will pierce new frontiers in meaninglessness”; “We don’t need another nominee in bed with industry, like @Hickenlooper (who drank fracking fluid to prove fracking harmless) or @CoryBooker (who voted endlessly with Big Pharma)”). The account attracted media attention that Gravel might not have garnered otherwise, giving the campaign an early boost. It’s not actually the senator tweeting—Oks and Williams are writing the missives; they see it as a way of conveying the candidate’s views in a new medium.

“We’re updating Gravel’s style for the age of memes,” Oks said. “If you watch Gravel in the 2008 debates, he’s caustic, he’s willing to say things that no other candidate is willing to say. He’s an unfiltered guy. We are largely in tune where the senator would be were he a few years younger.”

Still, Gravel urged them to move away from personal attacks on other candidates and toward policy-focused critiques. It’s advice that they’ve taken … mostly:

if you want a vision of the future under Cory Booker, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - forever. and every once in a while it stops for an inspirational lecture on how we should never stop dreaming — Mike Gravel (@MikeGravel) April 6, 2019

When I spoke with Gravel last week, he was indeed the same passionate presence that he has been throughout his career, quick with compliments (for Gabbard and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, in particular), castigation (for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, in particular), and commentary on the Democratic field. (Despite his political differences with the former New York mayor, Gravel thinks Michael Bloomberg should change his mind and run, pegging him as the best chance to beat Trump.)