Md. Governor closely watches how health marketplace plays in race for successor

Maryland voters' views of the roll-out of the online exchange could impact the primary election and have political implications for Gov. Martin O'Malley, who may be considering a presidential run. And in Mississippi, the incumbent senator's style on issues like the health law may be a disadvantage.

The Associated Press: Md. Primary Could Play A Role In O'Malley's Future
Sure to be paying as much attention to the results in Tuesday's primary election in Maryland as Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown will be the man Brown wants to replace - Gov. Martin O'Malley. ... While Brown led the state's efforts around health care reform and adoption of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, it was O'Malley who took the lead in providing updates on the status of Maryland's badly troubled health care exchange website, which crashed shortly after it debuted Oct. 1 (Witte, 6/23).

The New York Times: Mississippi Race Points To Appeal Of Partisanship
For decades, powerful figures like Senators Trent Lott, John C. Stennis and Thad Cochran, the six-term incumbent, and Representatives Sonny Montgomery and Jamie L. Whitten made serving the parochial needs of Mississippi their No. 1 priority, often dismissing the baser aspects of politics with an aw-shucks shrug. But comity may no longer get the job done in the Tea Party era. Chris McDaniel, the Tea Party-backed challenger to Mr. Cochran, has built his campaign on a promise to voters that he will add his voice to the national political fights against the health care law, big government and meddling bureaucrats - something Mr. Cochran seems temperamentally incapable of doing (Weisman and Schleifer, 6/23).