On Thursday, Montana Attorney General Tim Fox announced that he would seek the GOP nomination to succeed termed-out Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock. That same day, MTN News reported that unnamed sources told them GOP Rep. Greg Gianforte, who infamously assaulted The Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs on the eve of his 2017 special election win, was considering entering the race as well. Secretary of State Corey Stapleton has been seeking the Republican nomination for a few weeks, while no noteworthy Democrats have gotten in yet.

Fox won his second term 68-32, running far ahead of Trump’s 56-35 win in Montana, which helps explain why national Republicans unsuccessfully tried to recruit Fox to challenge Democratic Sen. Jon Tester last cycle. By contrast, Gianforte lost his race to unseat Bullock 50-46 that same night, while Stapleton won an open seat race 55-41.

Politico wrote in 2017 that for a time, Team Red was confident that Fox would run against Tester. However, as one national Republican ruefully put it, “This all changed post-bodyslam.” Gianforte still won his special election for Montana’s only House seat after he assaulted Jacobs, but state Republicans said that the attack made Fox more likely to run for governor in 2020. The article didn’t say exactly why, but it seems that Fox believed that Gianforte now would either not run for governor against him or would be a weaker primary foe.

While Gianforte may not be deterred from seeking the governorship, he might well prove to be a weak opponent for Fox. Last year, Gianforte won his first full term in Montana’s only House seat by a 51-46 margin against Democrat Kathleen Williams, which is not an especially great performance for a Republican incumbent.