Three days after formally launching his Arkansas gubernatorial campaign last week, Democrat Chris Jones set a couple of modest benchmarks for measuring short-term success.
"I'll be honest -- what we do in the first week will send a signal of how strong of a race we're going to run," he tweeted Friday. "If we don't pick up at least 10k followers and raise over $5k, we won't be taken seriously. We can't let that happen."
Things have picked up considerably since then, thanks to a viral campaign ad and shout-outs from a few celebrities and social media influencers.
As of Tuesday evening, Jones' Twitter account had 114,000 followers. The campaign spot, titled "About Time," had been viewed 4.6 million times.
The $5,000 fundraising goal has been eclipsed, the Pine Bluff native said.
Asked about the ad, Jones, an ordained minister, said: "I personally give all credit for the ad to God. It was certainly a journey and a process."
The spot, which debuted June 15, is largely biographical.
It describes the candidate's deep Arkansas roots and tells how Jones, the son of two preachers, ended up attending Morehouse College in Georgia on a NASA scholarship.
Jones would end up at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he earned a master's degree in nuclear engineering, a master's degree in technology and policy and a Ph.D. in urban studies and planning.
After working in Boston, he returned to Arkansas to serve the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub.
"One of the things we started out doing was trying to extract and understand my story, because there's so many different threads," he said. "I've had challenges, but I've also been tremendously blessed. Pulling it all together, in a unique story line, is never easy."
The roughly 2.5-minute ad was created by Putnam Partners, a Washington-based Democratic political media firm.
Frank Eaton, the company's vice president, helped craft it.
"He visited my hometown, and he talked to other people who knew me recently and from a long time ago. And through that listening, the story line emerged," Jones said.
The ad has been retweeted by Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison, actor Mark Hamill, author Don Winslow and W. Kamau Bell, the comedian and CNN host.
Adam Parkhomenko, a Democratic strategist with 536,000 Twitter followers, also helped to get the ball rolling.
So did Bradley Whitford, who played deputy White House chief of staff Josh Lyman on "The West Wing."
Jones happens to be a big fan.
"When I finished my Ph.D., I asked my wife for one thing. Really two. I said, 'I want the collector's set of the West Wing, and I wanted the time to watch it, every episode, from start to finish.'"
The ad has helped him reach many people, in Arkansas and elsewhere, who had never heard of Jones.
Asked about the ad's success, Jones said: "I think it just speaks to how the message is resonant with a lot of people. And it's a common message. We all have hopes and aspirations."
Jones, a first-time candidate, hopes to replace Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican who is term-limited. Two other Little Rock Democrats, businesswoman Supha Xayprasith-Mays and small-business owner James "Rus" Russell, are also running.
Attorney General Leslie Rutledge of Maumelle and Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Little Rock are seeking the Republican nomination. The former White House press secretary has 773,000 Twitter followers, and her campaign video has been viewed 3.4 million times on Twitter.
The Democratic Party of Arkansas is neutral in the primary.
But Michael John Gray, the party's chairman, said he's glad to see strong interest in the race.
"Chris brings one hell of a resume and a great network, and he's in it for the right reasons and is going to be a formidable candidate," Gray said.