Democratic presidential candidate Martin O'Malley on Thursday used Wednesday's highly viewed main-stage GOP debate to argue for more debates in his own party.

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"Telling New Hampshire they can only have one before New Hampshire, telling Iowa only one day before Iowa — that's never happened before. And I think people find it insulting. It's beneath us as a party," O'Malley said on MSNBC's "The Rundown with Jose Diaz-Balart."

O'Malley has for weeks pushed the Democratic National Committee to offer more debates, pointing to the "vitriol" in Wednesday's Republican debate, the second so far this cycle, which appeared to draw north of 20 million viewers. Last month's debate also saw high viewership at 25 million.

"And what do you hear from the Democratic Party? Nothing," O'Malley said, noting the first Democratic debate is not until next month. "We should be putting our ideas out there and countering the hate that's coming towards new American immigrants from the other side," O'Malley said.

few dozen people protested outside the DNC headquarters in Washington ahead of the GOP debate Wednesday, pushing back against the party's plan to hold just six debates this primary season — compared to 26 during the 2008 cycle.

O'Malley said on MSNBC it would be a "step in the right direction" for the Democrats to drop a clause barring candidates from participating in unsanctioned events, but maintained candidates should have more debates to discuss issues like wages and paid family leave.