If you want to know what life without Hillary looks like, drive up to a tiny coffee shop in ?Concord, N.H., tonight and look for the bland guy speaking awkwardly to a handful of curious customers.

That would be Martin O’Malley, the former governor of Maryland. Chances are you wouldn’t know him if you tripped over him, yet he could become the accidental front-runner if Hillary Clinton’s campaign continues to implode.

The disclosure of Clinton’s ?secret email account as secretary of state has not only severely damaged her presidential prospects, but exposed the Democrats’ complete lack of a bench — assuming U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren stays out of it. A race without Hillary would be like the Wizard of Oz without Dorothy. Sure, the Tin Man’s a nice guy, but not exactly great box office.

Democrats are hoping Clinton’s email problem goes away, but that seems very unlikely. That leaves the Democratic D-list of presidential hopefuls, led by O’Malley.

The two-term governor has been traveling around the country for the last few years to boost his presidential prospects — sort of a Democratic version of Mitt Romney — but because of Clinton, no one has taken him too seriously.

That could change this weekend in New Hampshire, where O’Malley will speak at a series of events and probably get a closer look from voters who aren’t so sure anymore that Clinton is the inevitable nominee.

Also in today's Herald:

O’Malley is every bit as liberal as Elizabeth Warren, but without the rock-star status. Under his leadership, Maryland legalized gay marriage, abolished the death penalty and passed new gun control laws, and of course he’s a big supporter of wind farms.

In other words, O’Malley’s a perfect fit for Massachusetts.

But unlike Warren or even Deval Patrick, O’Malley doesn’t draw big crowds or have hundreds of thousands of people watch his YouTube videos. In fact, most of his videos are lucky to break 1,000 views, judging by the recent lack of activity on his YouTube page.

This doesn’t mean O’Malley won’t become a credible candidate, but it’s been virtually impossible for any Democrat to break through with Clinton and Warren competing for the most attention.

Now, with Clinton teetering and Warren saying no, Democrats may have to scramble to find ?another candidate with even a ?decent chance of winning in 2016.

They might want to check out the True Brew in Concord tonight, because that bland-looking former governor sipping an organic soy latte just might be the party’s best hope to keep the White House.