FREEPORT — Republican presidential hopeful Rand Paul is returning to the Maine location where his father drew a big crowd in 2012, the year Ron Paul’s supporters took over the state convention.

Rand Paul is holding a campaign rally and fundraiser at a restaurant owned by Linda Bean across the street from retailer L.L. Bean, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

In January 2012, his father drew a crowd of more than 1,000 people in the dead of winter, underscoring his support before a strong showing in Maine’s presidential caucuses.

Ron Paul resonated with the libertarian wing of the Maine Republican Party and came in second behind Mitt Romney in Maine. Later, his supporters took over the state convention and sent a slate of Paul supporters to the national GOP convention.

Rand Paul’s visit is part of a three-day swing through northern New England, which began Monday with a stop in Vermont and continues through Wednesday with the rally in Freeport, as well as several meet-and-greets in New Hampshire.

In the crowded field of Republican candidates, Paul is running well behind the top nine contenders in the field of 17, according to a new national poll released Tuesday by Public Policy Polling, an independent polling firm. Paul, Jim Gilmore and Rick Perry all had the support of 1 percent of usual Republican primary voters, the poll found. Donald Trump led the pack, with 29 percent support.

Like many of the other Republican candidates, Paul has been leveling criticisms of Trump, including at his appearance in Vermont, where he was keynote speaker for a Republican fundraiser that attracted about 200 people to a barn in Essex.

Paul told the crowd that he believed people will “come to their senses” and not support a celebrity TV star as the Republican nominee, according to a WPTZ-TV report. “I think ultimately people will want someone to fix the country, how are you going to fix the debt, how are we going to fix America and really allow us to thrive again?”

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