Martin O’Malley

When former state Gov. Martin O’Malley announced his presidential campaign May 30 in Federal Hill Park in Baltimore, his odds of winning the nomination weren’t great. 

Relatively unknown in the national political field, he faced the challenge of distinguishing himself from fellow Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

Since his announcement, he has failed to draw the national attention or popularity of his competitors, securing 2 percent of votes in a recent poll despite what supporters call an impressive list of progressive legislative achievements. 

For the most part, O’Malley has been overshadowed in a year with 17 Republican candidates and a surge in support for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), government and politics professor Robert Koulish said.

“[O’Malley] is not gaining any traction, no media attention,” Koulish said. “Frankly, he doesn’t stand much of a chance at this point.”

Initially, it seemed O’Malley would present himself as the candidate for youth. Being 15 and 21 years younger than Clinton and Sanders, respectively, there was potential to harness the votes of the 18- to 34-year-old demographic. He appeared on college campuses and used social-media outlets such as Snapchat and Periscope to connect with young voters.

When he visited this campus in October 2014 to campaign for former Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown’s gubernatorial bid, he played guitar and sang with the Tomato Dodgers, a local band. He also performs with his Celtic rock band, O’Malley’s March. 

READ MORE: Former Gov. O’Malley visits UMD campus and performs with student band

But his youthful vigor is not enough to persuade young voters, Koulish said.

David Karol, a government and politics professor at this university, echoed these sentiments, emphasizing age doesn’t automatically translate to votes.

“Sure, he’s younger than Clinton, but he’s in his 50s,” Karol said. “He’s not like some hipster. He’s tried to use everything, tried to appeal to young people, but he’s just kind of bland.”

The state’s O’Malley supporters point to his legislative achievements as governor — which include the abolition of the death penalty, legalization of same-sex marriage and the passage of the DREAM Act — as evidence of his ability to get things done in office and his electability as a presidential candidate.

Jake Polce, the UMD College Democrats president who interned for the O’Malley campaign this summer, said this track record shows O’Malley is not just about talking.

“All five candidates have those strong progressive values that they’ll fight for,” the sophomore government and politics major said. “But it sets him apart that as mayor of Baltimore and governor of Maryland, he really showed how progressive he is.” 

But O’Malley’s problematic campaign, Koulish said, has prevented these legislative achievements from coming to the forefront of national attention. Despite some good policy positions, O’Malley is “lacking a vision and failing to inspire young people,” he said.

And in 2014, when Republican Larry Hogan won the gubernatorial election and defeated Brown, who was essentially O’Malley’s candidate, the results sent a message to the nation, said Breyer Hillegas, the UMD College Republicans president.

“The landslide election essentially said O’Malley’s own state didn’t approve of the job he did,” the senior biology major said. “If the favorability in his own state is so low, people might be asking, ‘Why should we support him if they don’t?’”

Regardless of these struggles, Polce cautioned against giving up on the former governor’s presidential bid. 

“He’s running a caucus campaign in Iowa and going to all 99 counties,” Polce said. “It’s like what happened in 2008, where a lot of the time Obama was discounted by national media. … He’s got to put his head down, visit voters, answer every question, shake every hand — that’ll make the difference.”