Kentucky Democrats maintained control of the state House after the Nov. 4 midterms. That means the road to the White House for Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., remains uncertain — his path forward momentarily blocked by an obscure statute in the Bluegrass State.

In Kentucky, a candidate’s name cannot appear on the ballot more than once in the same election. If this issue goes unresolved, Paul will be forced to choose in 2016 between running for the U.S. Senate and the White House. He had hoped that Republicans would take over the state House and help him by changing the law.