LAS VEGAS, NV — Nevada’s largest union welcomed Sherrod Brown warmly last weekend.

And a crowd at a fundraiser meet and greet in the town of Henderson were fans of what he and his wife, Connie Schultz, had to say.

“I really liked his wife!” said Betty Parker, who lives in Nevada. “She’ll make a great First Lady. She would kind of challenge Michelle Obama.”

Brown will complete his ‘Dignity of Work’ listening tour this weekend in South Carolina.

He said in Nevada that he’ll be announcing whether he’ll run for president in late March.

Spectrum News 1 has been the only Ohio news organization to travel with the senator on every leg of the tour.

And despite the good impressions Brown and Schultz made at their events, it was hard to find someone in the downtown Las Vegas Arts District who could name Brown when shown a photo of him.

“Oh my God, is he an actor?” one woman asked.

“Uh, no. Who is he?” asked a man standing outside a local bar.

Senator Brown seemed aware. He spent more time introducing himself to the crowds in Nevada than in Iowa or New Hampshire.

“I think that Senator Brown holds a lot of values that working Nevadans hold as well, and I think that he has a great shot,” said Christina Karas, who grew up in Cleveland before moving to Nevada in 2013 and attended Brown’s event in Henderson.

Two things stood out during the Nevada leg of the tour.

The first is that Brown’s ‘Dignity of Work’ message is well-received. A lot of people were hearing it for the first time and said Nevada is filled with working class people who could really be drawn to it.

But the second thing is lack of name recognition. Brown is not well-known in Nevada. And people there said that if he wants to jump into such a crowded primary field, he’s really going to have to do something to stand out.

“The key to success is to visit the places and the people that are going to go out there in the heat, in the cold, and knock on doors every single day,” said Chad Neanover, a cook in Las Vegas who attended Brown’s visit to the Culinary Workers Union.

Grassroots politics still matters in Nevada, so Spectrum Washington reporter Taylor Popielarz asked Brown if he’s worried that potential competitors with bigger platforms, like Sen. Kamala Harris and Sen. Cory Booker, are starting to talk about the ‘Dignity of Work’ on the campaign trail.

“I welcome any Democrat that wants to adopt the message of 'Dignity of Work,’" Brown said after his first event in Las Vegas. “That was one of my hopes early when we started this ‘Dignity of Work’ tour.”

Nevadans seemed anxious to learn more about Brown.

While most said they are still undecided for 2020, many said they thought his approach to politics could help in his uphill climb to become more known.

“I do think that [name recognition] could be a challenge,” said Linda Cavazos, who attended Brown’s event in Henderson. “But I believe that his very down to earth attitude and his willingness to answer questions — I was very much impressed by his being able to say, ‘I don’t know the answer to that question,’ or, ‘I will see what I can find out about that.’ I think that that is refreshing.”

Earlier this week, retired Nevada Senator Harry Reid spoke about Brown in an interview with CNN.

The former Democratic Senate Leader said he thinks Brown “would be a good president” and he called Schultz “stunningly impressive.”

Brown kicks off the final leg of his listening tour in South Carolina on Friday.