A Republican has not been elected to represent Maryland in the Senate since 1980. However, former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is giving the GOP a real shot to win a seat, but pointless intraparty bickering is threatening his campaign’s viability.

Maryland is a solid-blue state, so most normal Republicans would have no chance of winning a statewide race. But Hogan is not a normal Republican. Hogan’s record as governor was radically centrist, and if he wins in November, he will probably be the least conservative Republican senator. However, he will at least be a Republican senator. Hogan may only vote with Republicans half the time, but that is much better than having someone who votes with Democrats 100% of the time.