Martin O’Malley: 25 Things Voters Should Know

Martin O’Malley: 25 Things Voters Need to Know

Martin O’Malley is basically just the other white meat in the 2016 Democratic Presidential campaign race as all attention is focused solely on frontrunners Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. O’Malley is basically referred to as ‘the handsome guy who’d make an attractive sidekick for Hillary,’ but as with most people under the radar, there’s more to know about the former Governor of Maryland.

Let’s face it: Martin O’Malley’s presidential campaign needs a jumpstart. The former governor of Maryland has struggled to keep up with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in both polling and fundraising. After Democratic contenders Jim Webb and Lincoln Chafee exited the race, pundits have been waiting for O’Malley to follow suit.

But it’s still too early to write off O’Malley. If history is any indication, primary voters often don’t make up their minds until the last minute. Take the 2004 Democratic primaries, for instance, when frontrunner Howard Dean lost to a last-minute surge from John Kerry.

With that in mind, our friends at Inside Gov decided to take a deeper look at the O’Malley campaign. Because we’re data nerds, we found 25 numbers that define O’Malley and his campaign, ordering them from smallest to largest.

#25. 0 COLLEGE DEBT

O’Malley has proposed that within five years, all students have access to a debt-free college education in any in-state public college or university.

#24. 1 ROCK BAND

How many presidential candidates can claim to be the leader of an Irish folk-rock band? O’Malley founded his band — called “O’Malley’s March” — in 1988; he still sings and plays the banjo and guitar.

#23. 1 HOUR, 6 MINUTES, 4 SECONDS

O’Malley may be trailing Clinton and Sanders in terms of debate speaking time, but he’s doing well compared to the GOP candidates.

In just three debates, O’Malley has had nearly as much speaking time as GOP frontrunner Donald Trump over the first five Republican debates. It helps that he isn’t sharing the stage with nine other candidates.

#22. 2 TERMS

Before entering the presidential race, O’Malley served two terms as governor of Maryland.

#21. 3RD GREATEST DECREASE

During O’Malley’s tenure as mayor, Baltimore had the 3rd largest decrease in violent crimes among American cities.

#20. 4 CHILDREN

O’Malley has a large family, with four children. He’s been married to his wife, Katie, for 26 years.

#19. 4.7 PERCENT

The highest point O’Malley has reached in national polling averages. Even with the withdrawals of Jim Webb and Lincoln Chafee, O’Malley has been unable to rise above 5 percent.

#18. TOP 5 MAYOR

In 2005, TIME magazine named O’Malley one of the “5 Best Big-City Mayors.”

#17. 6 FEET, 1 INCH

O’Malley is the fourth-tallest 2016 candidate and the tallest among the Democrats.

#16. 7 PERCENT

Despite his underdog status, O’Malley has struggled to generate strong grassroots support. The fact that only 7 percent of O’Malley’s campaign contributions have come from small donations (less than $200) is not encouraging.

#15. $10.10 MINIMUM WAGE

As governor of Maryland, O’Malley signed legislation to raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 by 2018. He has advocated for a nationwide minimum wage of $15.

#14. 12TH PLACE

O’Malley’s campaign is in 12th place among the presidential hopefuls in terms of daily fundraising, with $14,556 raised on average each day. That’s just 5 percent of what Clinton raises each day.

#13. 26 YEARS

The number of years O’Malley has held elective office. O’Malley may be one of the youngest candidates, but he ranks above average when it comes to political experience.

#12. 35 WEEKS

To date, the number of weeks since O’Malley launched his campaign on May 30, 2015. O’Malley was the third Democrat to enter the race, behind Clinton and Sanders.

#11. 44 VOTES

The number of votes O’Malley lost by when he challenged incumbent John A. Pica in the Democratic primary for Maryland State Senate. The young O’Malley was considered to be a major underdog in the race.

#10. 52 YEARS OLD

O’Malley is 16 years younger than Clinton and 22 years younger than Sanders. Even so, O’Malley has had trouble connecting with younger voters.

#9. 90 PERCENT

When O’Malley first ran for mayor of Baltimore in 1999, he was viewed as a long-shot candidate. But after edging by in the Democratic primary, O’Malley went on to win 90 percent of the vote in the general election — a major landslide victory.

#8. 100 PERCENT

O’Malley has proposed that the U.S. be 100 percent powered by clean energy by 2050. The former governor has also argued for the creation of a Clean Energy Jobs Corps, to boost employment opportunities in green sectors.

#7. 1,000 SIGNATURES

The number of signatures O’Malley needed to appear on Ohio’s primary ballot. Although O’Malley submitted 1,175 signatures, only 772 were deemed valid by the state.

#6. 12,396 TWEETS

The O’Malley campaign has ramped up its social media presence. With 12,396 tweets to date, O’Malley is currently in fourth place among all the candidates.

#5. 65,000 REFUGEES

O’Malley has stated that the U.S. should accept at least 65,000 Syrian refugees.

#4. 119,196 FOLLOWERS

Despite the high volume of tweets, the O’Malley campaign has struggled to attract a large Twitter following, with just 119,196 followers to date. Only Jim Gilmore and Jill Stein have fewer followers among the presidential candidates.

#3. 250,000 SERVICE POSITIONS

One of O’Malley’s most ambitious proposals is the expansion of national service, which he calls “the cornerstone of American citizenship.” This includes bolstering AmeriCorps to provide 250,000 service positions by 2020.

#2. $289,443

The amount raised by O’Malley’s super PACs. That’s dead last among all the candidates with super PACs.

#1. $3.88 MILLION

Including all affiliated super PACs and committees, O’Malley has raised just $3.88 million. That puts him in 17th place among all the presidential hopefuls.