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| https://www.flickr.com/photos/mdgovpics/16032128236 |
You
guys have probably heard a lot about Hillary Clinton and Bernie
Sanders and are at least aware of the huge number of Republican
candidates, but what about the less popular Democratic hopefuls? With
the first Democratic presidential debate scheduled for Tuesday,
October 13, I thought it might be useful to get to know one of the
other candidates a bit more.
There
are currently 3—well, more like 2—popular Democratic candidates
at the moment. According to the Huffington Post's collection of
polls, Clinton is sitting at 44%. Sanders trails behind with about a
quarter of the vote, and Biden (who isn't officially running) has
about a fifth of the vote.
Meet
Martin O'Malley. He's the next most popular and polling at a measly
1.2%, but why not learn about other Democratic options? After all, a
lot can happen between now and November 2016.
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| O'Malley working out and prepping for his debate. |
O'Malley
is going to have some trouble differentiating himself from the
Democratic front runners. He holds similar policy positions and even
endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2008. Nonetheless, O'Malley is unique in
a few key ways. O'Malley offers a fresh face to the race. Unlike
Clinton and Sanders, he does not have experience in the national
government, but he was the mayor of Baltimore from 1999 until 2007
and the governor of Maryland from 2007 to 2015. Unlike Sanders, who
is 74, and Clinton, 67, O'Malley is a spry young 52-year-old (and
also really buff).
O'Malley
has laid out a list of 15 specific, if highly optimistic, goals that
he would pursue if he becomes president. Many of them are economic,
but he is also very concerned with the environment. For example, his
second goal is to “[g]enerate 100% of American electricity with
renewable energy by 2050.” To my knowledge, he is the only
Democratic candidate with such a well-defined list.
Although his goals are progressive, O'Malley's political history tells a different story. Until very
recently, he was best described as a Clinton Democrat, more centrist
than many Democrats we hear about today; however, his policies appear
to be shifting further to the left. I wonder how he would act as
president and how he will portray himself in debates.
Who's
your favorite candidate (Democrat, Republican, or third party) who
hasn't been getting a lot of media attention? Do you think he or she
has a chance to win the election?
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