Martin O'Malley
Related: About this forumCampaigning in Iowa, 2016 hopeful Martin O’Malley is keeping the faith.
DES MOINESMartin OMalley was running a little late for 8:30 a.m. Mass. But he and a pair of aides managed to slide into a back pew without creating a stir.
Dressed in jeans and an Under Armour crew shirt, the Democratic presidential hopeful made eye contact with an infant whose car seat was perched on the pew in front of his. For the next 50 minutes, OMalley sat quietly and took communion, enjoying a rare period of solitude during his latest whirlwind swing through the nations first caucus state.
During the homily, the priest at St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Catholic Church spoke of finding the courage and the strength to live our faith. His words werent aimed directly at OMalley in fact, no one in the church seemed to recognize the former Maryland governor and mayor of Baltimore but they might as well have been.
Stuck in the single digits in the polls, OMalley spent the summer trudging across about a third of Iowas 99 counties, without the fanfare of frontrunner Hillary Rodham Clinton or the large crowds of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the democratic socialist sensation. Over Labor Day weekend alone, OMalley logged more than 600 miles as he hit nine campaign events, shaking hands with scores of likely caucus-goers.
OMalley says he is guided by his faith in the political process here, one that tells him that if he just keeps going, he can win over enough Democrats between now and February to defy expectations and become a real factor in the nomination fight.
During a stretch when voters appear drawn to the angriest candidates, OMalley has adopted a decidedly different persona. He is the happy warrior. Like Sanders, he laments the nations growing income inequality and job insecurity but he almost always does it with a smile.
OMalley tells jokes, some at his own expense. Unlike his better-known rivals, he lingers at events long enough to have conversations with many of the party activists who will determine his future.
Whether his persistence will pay off remains to be seen. During the most recent three days OMalley spent in Iowa, there were signs of hope but just as many reminders of how tall the mountain ahead of him remains.
A fight worth having
Look, I know theres a lot of people who say to me, You have some pretty big odds cut out for you, kid.
OMalley was standing on folding metal chair as he spoke to about 200 people in a park lodge in Clinton, Iowa, above a stunning view of the Mississippi River.
I kind of like tough odds, OMalley continued. Ive always been drawn to the tough fights. A tough fight is what tells me its a fight worth having.
His seven-minute pitch included pledges to raise the minimum wage across the country, as he had in Maryland; to make it possible for students to attend college debt-free; to pass comprehensive immigration reform; and to make it easier for labor unions to bargain collectively. Each idea was met with applause.
There was no shortage of presidential politicking going on at the picnic, hosted by a labor group. Other 2016 Democratic campaigns had tables in the room and were handing out literature. OMalley ventured outside as well, mingling with a group of adults who were gathered drinking beer.
One of the picnic-goers, Joe Bonte, wore three stickers on his striped polo: one each for Clinton, Sanders and OMalley. His wife supports Clinton, he explained, while he is leaning toward Sanders. But he was intrigued to hear OMalley, whom he had never seen before.
Bonte, 68, a part-time chemistry teacher at a community college, said he wasnt sure if theres a path for the former Maryland governor..
Some people think Sanders is too extreme not me and some people think Hillary has all the baggage, Bonte said. Some people are looking for something in the middle. So maybe OMalley. Maybe.
Every (potential) vote counts
As he sped from Clinton to Tipton in a black SUV, OMalley extended a freshly opened bag of beef jerky in the direction of Jake Oeth, the aide tasked with organizing Iowa for him, and doubling that afternoon as his driver. Whos your friend? OMalley said, pushing the bag toward Oeth.
The two had an easy rapport, with Oeth prepping OMalley on what the next gathering would be like each time they rolled into town, and reminding him of any attendees OMalley should be certain to acknowledge.
The conversation turned to a waitress who had approached OMalley at a hotel restaurant in Des Moines that morning while he was eating breakfast before Mass.
She told me shes for me, OMalley said.
Oeth, eager to build OMalleys database of supporters. asked the candidate to give him the waitresss name. But OMalley only remembered her first name.
Then it clicked: He had e-mailed a copy of a photo taken of the two of them to her, using his mobile phone, so he had her e-mail address. He forwarded it to Oeth.
The waitress was now certain to hear from the OMalley campaign, part of the follow-up that is essential to the caucus process, to make sure supporters stay on board and actually participate on caucus night.
My Iowa team is very, very good, OMalley told a reporter tagging along in the back seat, joking that the exchangewas an example of building support one plate of scrambled eggs at a time.
He said he was convinced that the race was about to enter a new phase, where voters will be less motivated by the anger and frustration that he believes is behind the rise of Sanders on the Democratic side and Donald Trump on the Republican side.
People never nominate angry, in either party, really, OMalley said. Im not intimidated by low numbers, as long as I see the signs on the road of what my instincts tell me is happening. I know its hard for people in Washington and New York to see just yet.
You should be doing better
About two dozen people were waiting at picnic tables set up on Larry Hodgdens front lawn in the small town of Tipton when OMalleys SUV rolled up.
Hodgden is the Democratic party chair in Cedar County. He announced to the small crowd that he was endorsing the former governor for the Democratic nomination.
Hes the man with the experience to be able to do the job, Hodgden told his guests. We need somebody with integrity in the White House.
Hodgdens was one of 17 endorsements the OMalley campaign has rolled out during the past week. There were also five other county chairmen, two state legislators and a former congressman.
None had the name recognition of some of Clintons endorsers a group that includes former Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) but most were activists well-known in their jurisdictions, with reputations for working hard on behalf of their preferred Democrats.
There was an awkward moment during the Sunday afternoon stop in Tipton. A local television reporter began his interview with OMalley with this statement: I think you should be doing better than you are.
Ah, thank you, the candidate replied.
Wining folks over
The next morning, at a popular pancake house in Jackson County, OMalley made light of his standing in the race.
Now I know when a candidate stands before you with four-percent national name recognition whos running for president, theres a fine line between delusion and imagination, he told the three dozen people who came out to see him.
As the laughter died down, he added: But I also know just how seriously you take your responsibility.
Im in this to win this. I intend to win this.
OMalley fielded questions on an array of topics, including his philosophy on national security, his views on how to improve mental health services and his thoughts on what the balance should be between capitalism and socialism. The latter question was prompted by how well Sanders is doing in the race, the man who asked it said.
OMalley said what the United States has now is a sort of rigged capitalism, where the big banks and other corporate interests have too much power. But, he added: I dont believe socialism is the way to go.
Judy Collins, a 73-year-old nurse, said she appreciated that OMalley is not a table banger like Sanders. Collins said she was impressed by the candidates plans and thoughts and said she had been leaning in another direction even before she drove from Davenport to hear him.
I really intended to caucus for Hillary, she said. I dont think shed be a bad president. I dont think Bernie would be a bad president, or Joe Biden if he gets in the race. But I heard something today that really grabbed me.
No magic dust
Before leaving the state, OMalley hit two Labor Day picnics, one in Dubuque, the other in Iowa City.
The Dubuque event drew a sizable number of Clinton supporters, judging from the stickers many participants wore. OMalley gamely chatted and posed for pictures with many of them anyway.
Walt Pregler, the chairman of the Dubuque County Democrats, said his dream ticket would consist of Clinton for president and OMalley for vice president.
I dont see any magic dust falling over Dubuque County and him emerging as the winner here, Pregler said.
In Iowa City, Sanders seemed the most popular candidate, judging by the large number of picnic attendees wearing Bernie for President t-shirts. But the crowd applauded when OMalley gave a talk in a picnic shelter, most enthusiastically when he called for overturning Citizens United, the Supreme Court decision that has led to a flood of big-donor money in politics.
Id be proud to be your second choice, OMalley told retired law professor Nicholas Johnson, one of those in a Sanders shirt, after his talk
You have been all along, Johnson replied.
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