2016 Martin O'Malley suspends bid for the Democratic nomination

DES MOINES, Iowa — Former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley suspended his campaign after a dismal showing in Iowa’s caucuses on Monday.

O’Malley never caught on, consistently polling in the single digits nationally and in the early voting states since launching his campaign in May.


A data-driven manager during his tenure in Maryland, he aimed to play the true progressive in the race but lost that role to Bernie Sanders. Similarly, O’Malley couldn’t escape the shadow of 2008, when he was one of Hillary Clinton’s most dogged supporters and surrogates.

His best moments on the campaign trail instead came when he was railing against the party’s leadership over its debate schedule, which he said was designed to protect Clinton.

And while he occasionally showed flashes of potential during Democratic Party events in both Iowa and New Hampshire, O’Malley’s pitch that he is the candidate for the next generation failed to spark the enthusiasm he needed to build a real base of support, even when he tried tying himself to President Barack Obama’s legacy.