Martin O’Malley, former Governor of Maryland, 52, aspiring dark horse of the Democratic presidential primary and guy with abs has winnowed his way out of ab-scurity following his party’s first Debate. Writhing behind him, Lincoln Chafee (the squeaky one) and Jim Webb (the grumpy one), who withdrew their names. Towering above him, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, 74, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, 68 (happy birthday, madam) continue to draw record crowds and donation dollars with their wrinkled national profiles.
Here’s how the Morning Consult broke down their post-debate poll, released on Tuesday.
“Hillary Clinton continues to lead the field, with 53 percent of the vote. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) comes in second, at 26 percent, while former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) takes 5 percent. That’s O’Malley’s highest score in a Morning Consult tracking poll yet,” wrote MC’s Reid Wilson.
We’re pretty sure that’s also the first time that O’Malley has broken out of the margin of error (which was 3.7 percentage points in that poll). The desire of some Democrats to see him clinch the nomination is now a statistical fact. And for what it's worth, he’s being Googled more.
Is O’Malley’s humble prominence making him more bold? On Monday he took shots at his rivals on MSNBC’s Morning Joe.
“Both candidates have been in Washington for about 40 years, and neither has gotten much done,” he said. “A weather vein shifts its positions in the wind I’m clear about my principles, I know where I stand.”
He blasted both of Sanders and Clinton’s records, pointing take-backsies on gun control and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, respectively.
“Hillary Clinton has changed her mind on virtually every issue in this race except for one, and that is to protect the big banks on Wall Street,” he said, adding that “when Senator Sanders had an opportunity to stand up to the NRA, instead, he pushed through a bill in Congress that gave immunity to gun manufacturers.”
Bernie Sanders has consistently opposed the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Hillary Clinton voted against the gun bill in question. But O’Malley argues that he’s the only one who has stayed thoroughly progressive on those and other issues.
How, then, can he explain being dwarfed in the polls?
“In an effort to circle our wagons around the front-runner we were late in starting our debates. But we’re making up for that ground because we had record viewership in the first debate,” he said, adding “I think you’re going to see record viewership in the second debate.”
Viewership might not translate into enough support for O’Malley to win the race. Commentors in his MSNBC appearance were, in internet fashion, mostly critical.
Some called his campaign a waste of time, while others pointed to his lack of support in Baltimore, where he was mayor, and Maryland, where -- despite having name recognition -- he’s also polling in single digits among Democrats.
There are also logistical challenges to recruiting supporters and making sure that the caucus. In Nevada, for example, both the Clinton and Sanders campaigns are way ahead of O’Malley in terms of organizers, including paid staff and volunteers.
"They fought bravely against obscurity," Stephan Colbert said in a recent Hunger Games style parody of Chafee and Webb's demise in the race, "we salute you."
O'Malley has fought successfully against obscurity, and he's unlikely to join The Fallen anytime soon. It maybe be just a kettle’s worth, but he’s picking up steam.
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