Martin O’Malley Mulling a 2020 Presidential Run: ‘I Just Might’

Baltimore’s favorite Democratic politician hasn’t abandoned his presidential aspirations.

Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley went on MSNBC on Saturday to critique President Donald Trump’s response to the disastrous flooding of Houston and the surrounding region caused by Hurricane Harvey. Towards the end of his segment with left-leaning host Alex Witt, the conversation shifted to rumors that the ex-Baltimore mayor and two-term governor is eyeing a 2020 presidential run.

“I just might,” he said when asked by left-leaning host Alex Witt. “What I’m focused on doing right now is doing the next good thing we can do in the political life of our country, which means for my part I’m traveling all over the country helping good people run for office at the state and local level.”

O’Malley has become a prominent surrogate for Democrats seeking state-level offices in 2018. The Gazette of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, reported Sunday that he’s been there raising money for Iowa Senate incumbents coming up for re-election.

Interestingly, Iowa is the same state that spurred Maryland’s former governor to end his brief 2016 presidential run. He called it quits after finishing third behind Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders with roughly one percent of the vote in the Iowa Caucus.

O’Malley hasn’t just been twiddling his thumbs or playing shows since falling out of the presidential race last year. During the academic spring semester of this year he worked as a visiting professor at Boston College Law School, where he — even more interestingly — focused on using stats as benchmarks for efficacy of policymaking.

Since wrapping that up, he’s been playing the field for his fellow Dems running for office.

O’Malley wouldn’t be the first Marylander to declare if he does indeed decide to run for president. That honor goes to U.S. Rep. John Delaney, who entered the race this summer, just three years before the 2020 presidential election.

They’ll be part of a potentially record-breaking pool of Democratic candidates. As NBC News put it, “Everyone’s Running for President in 2020.”