Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler (D) told a group of campaign volunteers last month that Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown (D), his chief Democratic rival for governor, has a thin record of accomplishment and is trying to rely on his race to get elected next year, the Washington Post reports.

Said Gansler: “I mean, right now his campaign slogan is, ‘Vote for me, I want to be the first African American governor of Maryland.’ That’s a laudable goal, but you need a second sentence: ‘Because here’s what I’ve done, and here’s why I’ve done it.'”

First Read: “After all, at this point in the 2008 cycle — so in Aug. 2005 — no one viewed Barack Obama as an ’08 presidential contender (in fact, he had served just seven months in the U.S. Senate). Also at this point in the ’08 cycle, Hillary Clinton was seen as the overwhelming favorite on the Democratic side. (How did that turn out?) Back then, George Allen (R-VA) was considered at the least the co-frontrunner for the GOP nomination. (He lost his bid for re-election a year later.) And at this point in the 2008 cycle, George W. Bush had yet to see his poll numbers nosedive (Hurricane Katrina hit the U.S. on Aug. 29, 2005). Just something for everyone to consider with more than three years until Election Day 2016…”

“Most of the people I meet won’t walk away and say, ‘Wow, he put me to sleep.’ Almost nobody says that. People are still awake when I’m talking to them.”

— New York City mayoral candidate Bill Thompson (D), quoted by the New York Times, countering the perception that he’s boring.

“Kentucky, Wyoming and South Carolina should have been easy wins for incumbent Republicans trying to regain the U.S. Senate majority in 2014. Instead, the primary challenges they face threaten to drain resources, sharpen campaign trail rhetoric and build division for a party struggling to find its way after a demoralizing 2012 election,” Bloomberg reports.

“In Georgia, the Republican primary is jammed with seven candidates, pitting one wing of the party against the other — as is the case in the other states. Meanwhile, Democrats are unifying behind one candidate.”

“The infighting has raised Democratic expectations that they can keep control of the chamber and perhaps capture seats in Republican-leaning states. They did that in Indiana and Missouri in 2012 against inexperienced candidates backed by the small-government Tea Party branch of the party.”

An internal poll conducted in Arkansas for the National Republican Senatorial Committee puts Rep. Tom Cotton (R-AR) ahead of Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR) by two points, 44% to 42%.

Anthony Weiner released his first televised ad in the New York City mayor race.

His message: “I’ve waged a campaign focused like a laser beam on fighting for the middle class and those struggling to make it.”

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Republicans are “already jockeying over what is expected to be a wide-open 2016 presidential race, barely nine months after the latest one concluded and more than two years before any party primaries would start,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Iowa, traditionally the first state to hold a presidential contest, often receives early visits from hopefuls, but even some veteran operatives are surprised by what is under way.”

“Five dozen wealthy donors from Wall Street to Silicon Valley have placed their bets on both of New Jersey’s big political stars — Republican Gov. Chris Christie and Democratic Newark Mayor Cory Booker — this campaign season,” a Newark Star-Ledger review of state and federal records shows.