By S.A. Miller - The Washington Times - Friday, January 9, 2015
Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley said Thursday that he’s still “seriously considering” a run for president but admitted that he was rattled when voters rejected his hand-picked Democratic successor in favor of Republican Larry Hogan.
“I can tell you my feelings were hurt,” Mr. O'Malley said in a speech at the University of Chicago, CNN reported. “We had done a lot of really good things in Maryland and in the end, you did not hear much about it during the campaign,”
Still, he acknowledged, “I was on the ballot.”
Mr. Hogan won a stunning upset victory over Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, who served alongside Mr. O'Malley for eight years. The Republican’s campaign focused almost exclusively on Mr. O'Malley’s record of massive tax increases and heavy government spending.
Mr. O'Malley, a Democrat, has been weighing a presidential run since early 2014 and regularly visiting early primary states. He said he’s currently focused on moving his family out of the governor’s mansion but plans to make an announcement about his political future in the spring.
“Right now, my primary responsibility is to move my family back to Baltimore, which I will do in another week,” he said. “So I’m going to be taking some time over the next couple of months to get my family situated.”
Mr. O'Malley is at the back of the pack with about 1 percent support for his presidential bid in recent polls.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has yet to formerly announce her candidacy, remains the undisputed frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination.