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Martin O'Malley
Martin Joseph O'Malley (b. January 18, 1963, in Washington, D.C.) is the former Democratic Governor of Maryland. He first won election in 2006 and was re-elected in 2010 over his predecessor, Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. (R), who was running for another term. O'Malley won by a 15.6 percent margin.
O'Malley's second term expired in January of 2015, and he was ineligible to run again due to term limits. He endorsed Anthony Brown, the former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, in the 2014 election. O'Malley and Brown shared winning tickets in both 2006 and 2010. Brown ultimately lost to Larry Hogan (R) in the general election on November 4, 2014.
Before becoming governor, O'Malley served as the mayor of Baltimore from 1999 to 2007.[1]
O'Malley was also a candidate for president of the United States in 2016. He made his announcement on May 30, 2015, becoming the third Democratic candidate to enter the race.[2] O'Malley suspended his campaign on February 1, 2016. He told supporters, "Words cannot express how grateful I am to all of you my true friends who have helped me in waging this courageous battle. When I got into this 8 months ago I had no doubt that it would be anything but a tough fight. And it is a tough fight. But I have always been drawn to a tough fight."[3]
On November 18, 2024, O'Malley announced his candidacy for chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Click here to read more.
Biography
O'Malley was born in Washington, D.C. He attended Gonzaga College High School and earned his bachelor's degree from the Catholic University of America in 1985.
In 1986, O'Malley took his first job in politics as a state field director for Congresswoman Barbara Mikulski's successful U.S. Senate campaign. O'Malley served as a legislative fellow for Sen. Mikulski from 1987 to 1988. During that time, O'Malley was in law school at the University of Maryland. He graduated with his J.D. in 1988.
O'Malley then became the assistant state's attorney for Baltimore. He served on the Baltimore City Council from 1991 to 1999, when he was elected mayor of Baltimore. O'Malley served in this position for seven years until winning the governorship in 2006.[4]
Education
- Gonzaga College High School
- B.A. - The Catholic University of America (1985)
- J.D. - The University of Maryland School of Law (1988)
Political career
Governor of Maryland (2007-2015)
O'Malley was first elected governor in 2006, alongside lieutenant gubernatorial running mate Anthony G. Brown, and took office on January 17, 2007. He and Brown were re-elected on November 2, 2010. In 2012, O'Malley was elected to a second term as head of the Democratic Governors Association.[5]
O'Malley served as co-chairman of the Council of Governors, a group of five Republican and five Democratic governors whose purpose was to liaise with federal government officials about National Guard and homeland security issues. He was first appointed to the council in 2010 and was named its Democratic co-chair by President Barack Obama on February 21, 2013. O'Malley's Republican co-chair was Iowa Governor Terry Branstad.[6]
Issues
Repeal of death penalty
On May 2, 2013, O'Malley signed a bill to abolish the death penalty in Maryland, making it the 18th state to do so. "It's wasteful. It's ineffective. It doesn't work to reduce violent crime," he said.[7]
Gun control
In the wake of the December 2012 school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, O'Malley proposed outlawing military-style assault weapons, as well as placing greater restrictions on handgun licenses and large ammunition capacity in the state of Maryland.[8] On January 18, 2013, Gov. O'Malley (D) detailed his gun control package, calling it his top legislative priority. The plan would make it illegal for residents under the age of 21 to purchase or own registered firearms or ammunition and would require people who move to Maryland to register guns purchased in other states.[9]
Job creation ranking
A June 2013 analysis by The Business Journals ranked 45 governors based on the annual private sector growth rate in all 50 states using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. O'Malley was ranked number 17. The five governors omitted from the analysis all assumed office in 2013.[10][11]
Affordable Care Act
In December 2012, O'Malley declined to enter Maryland into the federal health-exchange system established under the Affordable Care Act in favor of setting up a state-based system.[12] Maryland is one of 18 states — including Colorado, New York, New Mexico and Washington — that decided to create and run individual health-exchange systems by the deadline on December 14, 2012. The exchange is an online marketplace for citizens to purchase health insurance.[12][13]
Public Officials of the Year Award (2009)
In 2009, Governing magazine named O'Malley as one of eight Public Officials of the Year for his "data-driven approach to policy and administration."[14] Other honorees included Kentucky Auditor Crit Luallen, Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed, and Minnesota State Representative Phyllis Kahn. Each year since 1994, Governing has selected state and local officials to honor for standout job performance. The Public Officials of the Year program "recognizes leaders from state, city and county government who exemplify the ideals of public service."[15]
Mayor of Baltimore (1999-2007)
O'Malley announced his mayoral campaign in 1999. He won the Democratic primary with over 50% of the vote and the general election with over 90% of the vote. In 2004, O'Malley was re-elected in the general election with 88% of the vote, defeating Republican challenger Elbert (Ray) Henderson.[16]
Presidential preference
2016 presidential endorsement
✓ O'Malley endorsed Hillary Clinton for the Democratic primary in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.[17]
- See also: Endorsements for Hillary Clinton
| 2016 Presidential Endorsements by Former Presidential Candidates | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Candidate | Date | Source |
 Carly Fiorina |
Ted Cruz (primary) |
March 2016 | Politico |
| Ted Cruz |
Donald Trump |
September 2016 | CNN |
| Jim Gilmore |
Donald Trump |
September 2016 | Politico |
 Bernie Sanders |
 Hillary Clinton |
July 2016 | CNN |
| Martin O'Malley |
Hillary Clinton |
June 2016 | |
| Rick Santorum |
Donald Trump |
May 2016 | Reuters |
| Mike Huckabee |
Donald Trump |
May 2016 | |
| Rick Perry |
Donald Trump |
May 2016 | CNN |
| George Pataki |
John Kasich |
April 2016 | ABC News |
| Jeb Bush |
Ted Cruz |
March 2016 | Politico |
| Ben Carson |
Donald Trump |
March 2016 | Politico |
| Carly Fiorina |
Ted Cruz |
March 2016 | Politico |
| Bobby Jindal |
Marco Rubio |
February 2016 | Tampa Bay Times |
| Lindsey Graham |
Jeb Bush |
January 2016 | NBC News |
Elections
2016
Presidency
O'Malley was a Democratic presidential candidate in 2016. He made his official announcement on May 30, 2015, stating,
| “ | "Today, the American dream seems for so many of us to be hanging by a thread. This is not the American dream. It does not have to be this way. This generation of Americans still has time to become great. We must save our country now. And we will do that by rebuilding the dream."[18] | ” |
| —Martin O'Malley[2] | ||
O'Malley previously stated on January 8, 2015, "I’m very seriously considering running in 2016. Right now, my primary responsibility is to move my family back to Baltimore, which I will do in another week. So I’m going to be taking some time over the next couple of months to get my family situated."[19] As of 2016, seventeen presidents had also served as governors.[20]
O'Malley suspended his campaign on February 1, 2016.[3]
2014
O'Malley was ineligible to run for a third term as governor in 2014 because Maryland limits its governors to serving two consecutive terms in office.
2010
- See also: Maryland gubernatorial election, 2010
O'Malley won re-election as Maryland Governor in 2010 on the Democratic ticket with Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown. They defeated Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr./Mary Kane (R), Maria Allwine/Ken Eidel (G), Susan J. Gaztanaga/Doug McNeil (L) and Eric Delano Knowles/Michael T. Hargadon (C) in the general election on November 2, 2010.
| Maryland Gubernatorial/Lieutenant Gubernatorial General Election, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Martin O'Malley/Anthony G. Brown Incumbent |
56.2% | 1,044,961 | |
| Republican | Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr./Mary Kane | 41.8% | 776,319 | |
| Libertarian | Susan J. Gaztanaga/Doug McNeil | 0.8% | 14,137 | |
| Green | Maria Allwine/Ken Eidel | 0.6% | 11,825 | |
| Constitution | Eric Delano Knowles/Michael T. Hargadon | 0.5% | 8,612 | |
| Democratic | Ralph Jaffe (Write-In) | 0% | 319 | |
| Unaffiliated | Corrogan R. Vaughan/Jim Crawford | 0% | 179 | |
| Other Write-Ins | Various | 0.1% | 1,528 | |
| Total Votes | 1,857,880 | |||
| Election results via Maryland State Board of Elections | ||||
2006
O'Malley first won election as Governor of Maryland in 2006. He was nominated by the Democratic Party to challenge incumbent Republian Robert Ehrlich in the November 2006 election. O'Malley selected Anthony G. Brown, a delegate from Prince George's County, lawyer and Iraq War veteran, as his running mate. O'Malley was expected to face Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan in the Democratic primary. However, Duncan dropped out of the race on June 22, 2006, citing clinical depression.
O'Malley defeated incumbent Gov. Ehrlich in the November 7 gubernatorial election by a 6.5 percent margin.[21] He was the only candidate to defeat a sitting governor in 2006.
| Maryland Gubernatorial/Lieutenant Gubernatorial General Election, 2006 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Martin O'Malley/Anthony G. Brown |
52.7% | 942,279 | |
| Republican | Ehrlich/Cox Incumbent | 46.2% | 825,464 | |
| Green | Boyd/Madigan | 0.9% | 15,551 | |
| Populist | Driscoll/Rothstein | 0.2% | 3,481 | |
| Republican | Simmins/Hargadon (Write-In) | 0% | 258 | |
| Democratic | Ralph Jaffe (Write-In) | 0% | 16 | |
| Democratic | Smith/Wilkes (Write-In) | 0% | 61 | |
| Other Write-Ins | Various | 0.1% | 1,206 | |
| Total Votes | 1,788,316 | |||
| Election results via Maryland State Board of Elections | ||||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Martin O'Malley Maryland. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
- Social media:
- Biographies:
- Executive actions:
- Fact-checking:
- Interest group ratings:
- Issue positions:
- Public statements:
- Media coverage:
Footnotes
- ↑ Maryland Governor, "Biography," accessed September 15, 2012
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The New York Times, "Martin O’Malley Announces Presidential Campaign, Pushing Image of Vitality," May 30, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 ABC News, "Martin O'Malley Suspends Presidential Campaign," February 1, 2016
- ↑ National Governors Association, "Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley," accessed October 5, 2012
- ↑ Washington Post, "Md. Gov. O’Malley re-elected as head of Democratic governors," December 6, 2011
- ↑ WBAL, "President Obama Appoints Governor O'Malley To New Position," February 25, 2013
- ↑ USA Today, "Governor signs repeal of death penalty in Md.," May 2, 2013
- ↑ USA Today, "Where each state stands on gun-control legislation," January 14, 2013
- ↑ Washington Post, "Maryland gun control: O’Malley details proposal for new restrictions," January 18, 2013
- ↑ The Business Journals, "Governors and jobs: How governors rank for job creation in their states," June 27, 2013
- ↑ The Business Journals, "How state governors rank on their job-growth record," June 27, 2013
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 The New York Times, "Most states miss deadline to set up health exchange," December 14, 2012
- ↑ The Daily Times, "Governor Susana Martinez to tackle state-based health exchange," January 9, 2013
- ↑ Jonathan Walters, Governing, "Driven by Data," 2009
- ↑ Market Wired, "GOVERNING Announces 2012 Public Officials of the Year," October 19, 2012
- ↑ Maryland State Board of Elections, "Baltimore City Election Result Summary," accessed November 19, 2003
- ↑ Twitter, "Martin O'Malley," June 9, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ MSNBC.com, "Maryland’s Martin O’Malley ‘very seriously’ considering 2016 bid," accessed February 4, 2015
- ↑ Center on the American Governor, "The Governors Who Became President: Brief Biographies," accessed October 30, 2013
- ↑ Maryland State Board of Elections
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. (R) |
Maryland Governor January 17, 2007 - January 21, 2015 |
Succeeded by Larry Hogan (R) |
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State of Maryland Annapolis (capital) |
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