Democratic primary candidate Martin O’Malley stops in Columbia: ‘People are looking for alternatives
Democratic presidential primary hopeful Martin O’Malley walked into a popular coffee shop in the state’s capital Monday but didn’t turn many heads.
Customers of the shop, which is popular with South Carolina’s politicos, stared discreetly as the former Baltimore mayor and governor of Maryland greeted those who recognized him. It’s an issue O’Malley knows he has to overcome if he is to succeed against his better-known rivals, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Yet it’s a type of battle he has won before. When he announced he was running for mayor in Baltimore, he recalled having 7 percent name recognition, while his rivals each had more than 80 percent.
“When I announced for president, I said to a friend of mine who was there when I announced for mayor, this isn’t any crazier than when I announced for mayor,” O’Malley said. “It’s bigger. And it’s a much larger scale. But in terms of degree of difficulty, this one’s not crazier.”
Since he announced in late May, O’Malley said he’s been running his campaign no differently than when he ran for mayor; he said he’s been going from town to town in Iowa, having visited 20 of the state’s 99 counties. He also said he planned on spending more time in South Carolina vying for voters.
On Tuesday, O’Malley participated in a roundtable discussion by 20/20 Leaders of America, where he called for protecting voting rights, reforming the criminal justice system and abolishing the death penalty. It was his first visit to the Palmetto State since announcing he was running for president.
Unlike his rivals, O’Malley has publicized many of the policies he would implement if he were elected president. His most recent rollout entailed sweeping criminal justice reforms for the nation amid increasing racial tensions.
The issues O’Malley cares about certainly have appeal to voters, said Kendra Stewart, a political science professor at the College of Charleston. But he has a very large obstacle to overcome, and that’s Clinton. . .
“People are looking for alternatives,” O’Malley said. “They don’t like being told who they’re supposed to be voting for, and they don’t like the sinking sense that’s in the air that somehow big money determines who our nominee is going to be.”
http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20150804/PC1603/150809721/1031/democratic-primary-candidate-martin-o-x2019-malley-stops-in-columbia-x2018-people-are-looking-for-alternatives-x2019
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