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Two years away from the first Iowa Caucuses, most voters in that state have no idea who Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley is, according to a poll conducted by the Des Moines Register.
Gov. Martin O’Malley
Of those surveyed by the paper, 69 percent said they had no idea who O’Malley was. That same poll found that about 18 percent said the governor had a very favorable or mostly favorable name recognition and about 13 percent of those surveyed said he had a mostly unfavorable or very unfavorable name recognition.
O’Malley polled only slightly better than former Montana Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer. The paper noted that the two Democrats “are little more than footnotes” in Iowa compared to Hillary Rodham Clinton and Vice President Joseph Biden, who each had higher name recognition and favorable ratings in the Des Moines Register poll.
“At this point, [O’Malley and Schweitzer] are simple fictitious names to most Iowa Democrats,” Republican strategist John Brabender told the paper. “You could make up names, and they would have roughly the same favorable/unfavorable scores and Schweitzer and O’Malley.”
O’Malley has spent portions of the last two years trying to introduce himself to voters in early primary states such as Iowa and New Hampshire.
Last year, he spent time with Iowa delegates while in North Carolina speaking at the Democratic National Convention. He also attended and spoke at an steak fry in Iowa last fall.
In November, O’Malley spoke at a Democratic fundraiser in New Hampshire.
O’Malley’s poll numbers in Iowa are similar to those in several other polls over the last year that show him in last place with a scant 1 percent to 3 percent support. Hillary Rodham Clinton has been the odds on favorite in all of the early polls
In May a New England College poll showed Clinton leading the pack with about 65 percent of those surveyed saying they would vote for her. O’Malley finished dead last in a field of six.
O’Malley posted similar numbers in that same month in a poll conducted by Quinnipiac University.
In March, a poll conducted by the Washington Post found that Clinton was more popular in Maryland than O’Malley.
Related:
- O’Malley takes ‘Believe’ campaign to New Hampshire
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I live in The People’s Republic of Maryland and I can fill you in on the socialist Martin O’Malley. We call him Owemalley in this state because he’s raised taxes so much he’s breaking the backs of the middle class to pay for all his free handouts he uses to buy votes. Ever hear of a Rain Tax? The citizens of Maryland pay a tax every time it rains. The Rain Tax is one of Owemalley’s ideas. Owemalley despises guns and has trampled on the 2nd Amendment rights of the citizens of Maryland, the same Amendment he swore to uphold and to protect. This guy is a traitor in the worst way. If We The People of Maryland could only ship this socialist Leprechaun and all his taxes back to the other side of the rainbow. All of Maryland would prosper.