With political aspirations far beyond his home state, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley (D) will be judged on how well he performs his chief duty as Chair of the Democratic Governors Association: electing Democratic governors. So far O’Malley is off to an inauspicious start.

In what appears to be shaping up as the main gubernatorial battleground this fall in Kentucky, O’Malley’s horse in the race, incumbent Steve Beshear, has run into early trouble.