O’Malley always trailed his rivals by a far gap.
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Both candidates, the Republican U.S. senator from Kentucky and the former Democratic governor of Maryland, respectively, will campaign at Iowa State on caucus day, looking to sway undecided voters.
When O’Malley’s viability was put into question after critics slammed his lackluster poll rankings, at one point even asking him whether he would want his delegates to be sent to Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders, O’Malley simply replied that in a mock Caucus event, his numbers were comparable to his opponents’ and not to count him out yet.
World Health Organization: U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, 2016 Republican presidential candidate.
He is expected to announce his decision at his caucus party at Wooly’s in Des Moines, Iowa.
O’Malley campaigned as a can-do chief executive who pushed through key parts of the Democratic agenda in Maryland.
Anthony G. Brown, O’Malley’s hand-picked successor for governor of Maryland, a heavily Democratic state, suffered a humiliating defeat to a Republican in a 2014 race that in many respects turned into a referendum of O’Malley’s tenure, which included not only his progressive policy victories but also as a series of tax increases.
O’Malley lagged in the polls by double digits as the first primaries and caucuses neared; his presidential bid never gained significant traction.
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“We’ve seen a big uptick in our fundraising, a big uptick in interest since the debate”, O’Malley said in October. During the final quarter of the year, he reported $1.5 million, including a $500,000 loan, compared to $37 million for Clinton and $33.6 million for Sanders in donations.
