The cab driver who picked up Dwight Holton and his family at the Philadelphia airport asked if they were delegates on their way to the Democratic National Convention.
Not quite, the former Oregon U.S. attorney replied. Yes, they were heading to the convention -- but as special guests of vice presidential pick Tim Kaine. Holton's older sister, Anne Holton, is Kaine's wife.
"The cab driver demanded we take a picture with him, and he called his wife to tell him he was driving Tim Kaine's in-laws," Holton said. "We're basking in unearned reflected glory - we're just lucky to be related to Tim."
Kaine is now a major political figure after Hillary Clinton's announcement last week that the former Virginia governor and current senator would join the race against Republican Donald Trump as her running mate. Kaine is set to address the nation Wednesday night.
But to Holton, Kaine's the guy who's loved his sister for more than 32 years. He's served as an inspiration throughout Holton's legal career, and was one of Holton's most high-profile backers during his failed bid for Oregon attorney general in 2012.
And to Holton's kids, ages 9 and 12, he's the "fun uncle," Holton said. The family has had a good laugh, he said, at the media reports calling Kaine "boring."
"My daughter and son think of him as the guy who throws them around the pool on family vacations," he said, "the guy who will break out the harmonica and lead us in family sing-alongs. ... He's anything but boring."
Among Bernie Sanders supporters, the concern with Kaine isn't that he's boring, but rather that his stances on trade and Wall Street aren't progressive enough.
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, was also tossed around as a potential vice president. Merkley was the only senator to endorse Sanders, though he has since come to support Clinton.
"Tim Kaine is enormously capable ... very powerful intellect and very easy to work with," Merkley told the Associated Press. "But there are issues that we would love to have him be in a different place on."
Questions about his progressive values are unfounded, Holton said, citing Kaine's years fighting against the gun lobby, housing discrimination and tobacco companies.
"The progressives who know Tim best love him," he said. "Our neighbors in Oregon are going to love Tim. Never before has there been a nominee in the VP slot with Tim's track record of advancing progressive causes in a very challenging environment like Virginia."
Kaine's values align with Oregon's, Holton said. And after several trips to visit family, Holton said Kaine "knows Oregon unlike any candidate in modern times."
He's hiked Mount Hood, leaped into Punch Bowl Falls and slurped down chowder at Mo's, Holton recalled.
"Our core progressive values in Oregon run through Tim's veins," Holton said.
Holton, who serves as CEO of the suicide-awareness nonprofit Lines for Life, knew politics even before his statewide run in 2012. His father, a Republican, served as Virginia's governor from 1970 to 1974. Both Holton and his wife held jobs in President Bill Clinton's White House.
The convention has brought some memories back. To get to their hotel room, Holton and his wife had to clear a Secret Service checkpoint.
On Wednesday, Holton said he hopes millions of Americans see his brother-in-law as a "reminder of what politics can be and hopefully will be again."
"We've teased him that, no pressure, but this is the most important election of our lifetime," Holton said, "so go win."
- Talia Richman
@TaliRichman