As Washington was preparing for the expected official announcement this weekend by Hillary Clinton that she will enter the 2016 presidential race, Martin O'Malley was playing the guitar following a speech in Beaverdale, Iowa, one of the stops on his two-day listening tour of the state.
"The president has laid the foundation. But we elected in Barack Obama a president. We didn't elect a magician. We have work to do," the former Maryland governor told an audience gathered at Cooney's tavern,
reports The Des Moines Register.
Since the beginning of the presidential cycle began, O'Malley has been traveling the nation, including 12 days in the Hawkeye State, in order to gauge the level of support that exists for a potential candidacy.
"You have to allow the time to give your friends the ability to tell you whether they think you’re crazy or whether they’re on board. You have to give your family the ability to tell you that as well. And that requires an amount of time and patience,"
O'Malley told The Washington Post in a Thursday interview.
The 53-year-old says there are "fewer and fewer" considerations left and could make an announcement as early as May.
And that decision will not be impacted by Clinton's entrance into the race, he says.
"My sense, having traveled around the country now over the course of the last year, is that Americans … feel that their politics has been very badly damaged, that the rules have been unfairly manipulated in ways that threaten the future of our American Dream and of a growing American middle class. And people in our party, I think, are looking for new leadership that will break with the failed policies of our past and create a new and better day for our country. That’s my sense," he told the Post.
As he travels the early primary states, O'Malley appears to be running against Hillary and as a male version of Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who has captured the imagination of the liberal wing of the Democratic Party.
"I would welcome her supporters … if I were to get into the race," said O'Malley during a recent visit to New Hampshire,
reports Time.
Warren's populist message is one he has echoed, telling ABC News' George Stephanopolous last month the country needs "a president willing to take on powerful, wealthy, special interests to restore the American economy" and a new perspective.
Story continues below video.
"The presidency of the united States is not some crown to be passed between two families. It is an awesome and sacred trust. That to be earned, and exercised on behalf of the American people," he said. "But look. In order for us to make an economy again where people can work hard and get ahead, we need a president who is on our side."
If he runs, O'Malley faces a steep challenge as he has yet to garner more than 3 percent of the Democratic primary vote,
according to RealClearPolitics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.