In the most recent NH poll, O'Malley is at 2%

[cali]

When he announced, almost 3 weeks ago, many DUers stated confidently that he'd pull support from Bernie. That doesn't seem to be happening.

I like O'Malley a lot, but how is he going to get support? He's been showing up in Iowa and NH, talking with voters.
Why is he having such a hard time?

[MineralMan]

1. I think it's because he doesn't stand out.

Between Hillary Clinton's widespread recognition and Bernie Sanders very strong alternate vision of the Presidency, O'Malley doesn't have a good place to stand. He has very limited national name recognition and his positions don't contrast enough with Hillary's centrist and Sanders' left positions.

I really don't see a path to growth in his numbers due to that factor. The left loves Bernie and the rest think Hillary has the best chance to win. It's going to be a two-person primary, basically. Lincoln Chafee isn't even a player.

[Jumpin Jack Flash]

3. Chaffee should announce his termination of his candidacy in 0.2 nanoseconds..

(h/t to Conan)

[MineralMan]

8. I don't imagine he'll be around for the Iowa caucuses.

He'll get the picture, if he has not already.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

2. You can do an autosearch

I correctly asserted that Bernie Sanders had become the ABC * (Anybody But Clinton) candidate and sucked all the energy for other candidates out of the race. That caused chagrin for some of my friends on this board who support Governor O'Malley but it was the truth.




* The first ABC movement came in the latter stages of the 1976 primaries when some Democrats were getting buyers remorse about Jimmy Carter and Hubert Humphrey flirted with entering the race and Jerry Brown actually did.

[cali]

4. While I largely agree with that assessment, I don't think all and perhaps not most

of Bernie's support is due to ABC. A significant amount of it is simply his message which is in tune with a great deal of sentiment within the democratic party and with independents. Hillary's swift adoption of a message which adopts much of Bernie's, confirms that.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

5. I would be happy to vote for any of em...

I said at the time that O'Malley and Clinton are very similar in that they are conventional politicians and if someone wanted an alternative to Clinton they would choose someone most unlike her and not just a little unlike her...

But again i like all of em and Governor O'Malley seems just fine.

[Cheese Sandwich]

6. The timing couldn't have been worse for him with the Freddie Grey murder sparking Baltimore riots

Maybe people think as recent Mayor of Baltimore and Gov. of Maryland he must not have done such a great job if this is what his city has come to.

[bigtree]

7. not a very supportive thread

...kind of blowing smoke in the face of O'Malley supporters here. He just announced 18 days ago. Give it a rest. Enjoy your candidate's lead and give his campaign a chance.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

9. I like him... I always have but was never bullish on his prospects...

It seems every primary has its Martin O'Malley, the earnest candidate who never gains traction.

[cali]

13. you're being touchy to an extreme

I've been nothing but supportive of him- and of your ops here about him. I kick them and comment positively every time I see one. But this is a political discussion board and we discuss all aspects of the primary.

[bigtree]

14. it's 18 days into his announcement

...he just opened his 1st NH campaign office.


http://www.democraticunderground.com/1281902

He's a governor with little national exposure running against two Senators - one a former candidate, and the other a veteran politician who's been in the public eye for decades. Not to mention Bernie's familiarity to Democrats in New England. Why would anyone expect O'Malley to get traction in NH this early in the campaign?

[bettyellen]

10. Well, he's not going to make a dent in Sanders lock on New England.

That's pretty obvious.

[Andy823]

11. In a national poll

http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/martin-omalley/


"Bernie Sanders may be gaining momentum in recent New Hampshire polling but Hillary Clinton is more dominant than ever in the national polling. She's at 65% to 9% for Bernie Sanders, 5% for Martin O'Malley, and 4% each for Lincoln Chafee and Jim Webb. Sanders is the most common second choice of Democratic voters at 19% and O'Malley has broken away from Chafee and Webb to become the clear third choice of primary voters at 12%. Overall Clinton is the first or second choice of 73% of Democrats to 28% for Sanders, 17% for O'Malley, 8% for Chafee, and 7% for Webb."

O'Malley is now the clear third place choice, as stated in this poll. True 5% is still low, but it is early and I am sure those numbers will go up. The more people get to know him, hear what he has to say, and check out what he has already accomplished, the more his numbers will go up. The fact that 17% see him as their first or second choice isn't so bad at this time in the race.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

12. He didn't 'get there' first. He's running in basically the exact same space as Bernie

but didn't declare til after Bernie had basically sewn up that 'space' on the political spectrum.

Plus, Bernie has had an activist following for decades. O'Malley is basically unknown outside of his own state.

So the problem doesn't lie in what he's saying, but simply that he was slow off the starting block.