'It's surreal': JD Vance's mom attends his Middletown rally

As hundreds of people began to funnel into a Middletown High School auditorium for vice presidential nominee JD Vance's rally, his mother, Beverly Aikins , sat in the front row. Wearing a green-and-white pinstripe shirt and black-rimmed glasses, she beamed when talking about her son.

"It's surreal," Aikins said of attending a political rally in Middletown , where she still lives, for her son.

Aikins made her national debut during the Republican National Convention last week. Vance formally accepted Donald Trump's nomination to be his running mate on Wednesday. He mentioned Middletown, the Butler County city where he grew up, several times in his speech, and addressed his mother, who sat in the audience.

"It's very exciting. I'm very proud of JD," Aikins told the Enquirer on Monday.

Vance wrote about his chaotic Middletown childhood and his mother's multiyear struggle with substance use in "Hillybilly Elegy," his 2016 memoir. The crowd at the Republican National Convention burst into chants of "JD's mom!" after the Ohio senator said Aikins had been sober for almost 10 years.

The days that have followed the convention have felt unreal, Aikins said.

"I've probably had ‒ not exaggerating ‒ 500 new Facebook friend requests, so I had to get off Facebook. It's just been crazy," she said.

"But I'm really proud of JD."

Vance is expected to speak at the rally around 1:30 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 'It's surreal': JD Vance's mom attends his Middletown rally