9 things to know about Martin O’Malley

Introduction

Update, Feb. 1, 2016: After a poor showing in the Iowa caucus, Martin O’Malley decided to end his presidential campaign.

Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley is set to announce his bid for the presidency on Saturday.

The announcement will make O’Malley the second official challenger facing Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton in the battle for the party’s presidential nomination.

While in the governor’s mansion from 2007 to 2015, O’Malley also did a two-year stint as chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, a political committee dedicated to electing Democratic chief executives.

O’Malley’s presidential aspirations have been Maryland’s worst-kept secret for several years. He has been an active presence in the national political arena since his election as Baltimore’s mayor in 1999. In 2007, the then-new governor even stood in for Clinton at a rally promoting her first presidential run.

Here are nine things to know about O’Malley’s political and financial history:

• Martin O’Malley’s entrée into politics came as a field director on the first U.S. Senate campaign of Sen. Barbara Mikulski, who was then a member of the U.S. House.
• Martin O’Malley lost his first attempt at public office — a 1990 Democratic primary election for a seat in the state Senate — by just 43 votes.
• Martin O’Malley’s first campaign for governor, in 2006, raised $11.9 million. In 2010, he raised about $11 million for his re-election effort.

• During Martin O’Malley’s campaigns for governor, more than 60 percent of the cash he raised came from outside of Maryland.
• The largest contributor to Martin O’Malley’s 2006 campaign for governor was developer David S. Brown Enterprises, which gave$25,500.
• Edward St. John was fined in 2008 for giving more than the legal limit to O’Malley’s campaign. The fine was levied around the same time that O’Malley announced a highway project serving one of St. John’s properties.

• While Martin O’Malley was at its helm, the Democratic Governors Association raised $50 million, tax records show. Labor unions contributed at least $7.5 million during that period.
• During his tenure as chairman, the DGA credited Martin O’Malley with raising then-record sums for the group.
• As DGA chairman, Martin O’Malley received widespread criticism when the group accepted large amounts of money from companies with business before Maryland lawmakers.

Image sources: Wikicommons, Maryland Govpics/Flickr

Sources: Center for Public Integrity reporting, as well as the National Institute on Money in State Politics and Washington Times.