THERE ARE NO DEEP BLUE STATES:

Hogan's story is odder still because he is one of a breed of politico that has been proclaimed dying for years. The main electoral storylines of the past decade have involved both parties fleeing the center, with the election of Donald Trump and the ascendance among the Democrats of hard-left progressives like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren only taking things a step further. The same has held true of the general public: Study after study shows that Americans increasingly dislike and distrust members of the opposite political persuasion, form fewer relationships with them, and decreasingly interact with them at all. And yet here's Hogan, in a room full of Republicans, talking about "disagreeing without being disagreeable," laying the bipartisanship on thick:

As I was taking the oath of office, I said to those who would drive us to the extremes of either party: Let me remind you that Maryland has always been a state of middle temperament. And I asked that we try to seek that middle ground where we could all stand together. . . . Instead of letting Maryland become just like Washington, let's send a message to Washington and let's set an example to the rest of the nation by putting the politics aside and coming together for all Marylanders.

A commitment to bipartisanship is not the only thing that accounts for Hogan's success, of course. During his first year in office, he developed a reputation for steady leadership, especially during the rioting following the death of Freddie Gray at the hands of Baltimore police. Working with the city's Democratic mayor, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Hogan declared a state of emergency, mobilized the state's National Guard, and temporarily moved his offices to Baltimore to address the crisis directly. He toured inner-city neighborhoods to meet with disaffected citizens and promised to restore order to the city.

"The governor was elected, and when you're elected you're thrown right into your first session. And then about a week after that we had the Baltimore city riots," says Doug Mayer, Hogan's deputy campaign manager. "He was thrown right into international news, and I think he proved to the people of Maryland through that experience that he was a leader and someone they could depend on. At an uncertain time, he was a steady hand, and he was gonna run the state of Maryland competently. Two months after that he got cancer."

In June 2015, Hogan announced he had been diagnosed with a "very advanced and very aggressive" lymphoma. He said he would stay in office while undergoing a punishing chemotherapy treatment that would "beat the hell out of me" but likely completely eradicate the disease. His struggle played out in the public eye for over a year, and the disease took an obvious physical toll. He looks older, more weather-beaten, and now wears his hair in a buzz cut. But the fight humanized him with voters who respected his straight talk and good humor about his illness.

And there's the economic good news to campaign on this season. Hogan touts the fact that Maryland's business climate has improved substantially on his watch, citing metrics like CNBC's "Top States for Business" scorecard, which last year ranked Maryland's state economy 7th in the nation (up from 24th in 2014) and its overall business climate as 25th (up from 35th).

Altogether, Hogan's proven to be a potent package for winning over voters. When he first took office, 42 percent of Maryland residents approved of him, with 24 percent disapproving. By that October, his approval had swelled to 61 percent, and he hasn't looked back: A Morning Consult poll this year found Hogan the country's second-most popular governor, with 68 percent approving and a mere 17 percent disapproving of his leadership.

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