O'Malley will attend house parties in Marshalltown and Mount Vernon in the afternoon before a 7:30 p.m. meet-and-greet in Iowa City. The location for the Iowa City event is still to be announced.

The Marshalltown event will be hosted by Iowa House of Representative Minority Leader Rep. Mark Smith, while the Mount Vernon house party will be hosted by former State Rep. Nate Willems.

Planned Parenthood of Maryland (PPM) is honored to present the 2014 Betty Tyler Award to Maryland Governor Martin J. O'Malley for his outstanding leadership in protecting and advancing reproductive rights in Maryland. The award will be presented at PPM’s 9th Annual Spring Gala event to be held on the evening of Wednesday, April 30th at The Four Seasons Harbor East in Baltimore.

“At a time when women’s health and access to reproductive care is under attack across the country, Governor O'Malley has protected the rights of women in Maryland," said Jenny Black, President & CEO of PPM. “For his outstanding record of prioritizing Maryland women and women’s health, we are happy to recognize the leadership of Governor O’Malley at Planned Parenthood of Maryland."

“Over the last seven years, we made the better choice to set goals to protect the health and well-being of women and children. Working together as one Maryland, we not only achieved our goal, we more than doubled it, driving down infant mortality by 21 percent since 2008, “said Governor O’Malley. “By improving the health -- and the well-being -- of women, we are building a stronger future for all of our children and grandchildren. I am honored to receive this recognition from Planned Parenthood Maryland for Maryland’s hard-won progress.”

According to a report from the Center for American Progress, Maryland is the best state for women in America based on three factors: economics, leadership and health. During the O’Malley administration, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene implemented the Babies Born Healthy Initiative. This three-pronged initiative ensures women are healthy before, during, and after pregnancy by supporting access to high-quality family planning, screening and referral for Medicaid eligibility, WIC nutrition benefits, substance abuse treatment, domestic violence prevention and other screenings and referrals. Using this approach, Maryland has driven down infant mortality 21% since Governor O’Malley took office in 2007.

The Betty Tyler Award memorializes a woman without whom there might not be a Planned Parenthood of Maryland, whose 12 years of service led the Board of Directors from 1974 through 1986. PPM bestows the Betty Tyler Award on deserving trailblazers for women’s health and reproductive justice in Maryland. The first award was given in 1988, and past awardees include Senator Delores G. Kelley, Frances B. Phillips, RN, MHA,Delegate Peter A. Hammen and U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen.

Joining the Governor at the Spring Gala will be Alexis McGill-Johnson, Chair of the Board of Directors for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake,MD Attorney General Doug Gansler, Comptroller Peter Franchot, Delegate Jon Cardin, County Executive Ken Ulman, Delegate Jolene Ivey, Senator Brian Frosh and others.

Any Democrat looking for an electable alternative to Hillary Clinton should welcome O'Malley's candidacy. Before O’Malley entered the race on Saturday, Clinton’s lone challenger was Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who does not even consider himself a member of the Democratic Party. O’Malley, the former governor of Maryland and former mayor of Baltimore, is positioning himself to Clinton’s left, giving liberals the chance to vote for someone who would have a fighting chance of getting elected if nominated, which is more than can be said of Sanders.

And it's not just Democrats looking for a Clinton alternative: Clinton herself can benefit from O'Malley's campaign. O'Malley will take some of the spotlight away from Sanders, a liberal firebrand, fracturing the opposition vote. A vigorous challenge from O’Malley would also help Clinton dispel the criticism that her nomination is a virtual coronation, and it could help her clarify her positions.

This is the case even when O'Malley is wrong on the issues -- as he is on the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, for example. O'Malley opposes the pact, as does Sanders, while Clinton has been straddling the issue. Ignoring a socialist is one thing. But O’Malley’s presence in the race should make it harder for Clinton to be evasive.

(snip)
O'Malley's campaign clearly didn't mind seeing him cast as Wall Street's worst 2016 nightmare.

His team sent out a press release on Monday highlighting the fact Gasparino called him "the last person [Wall Street CEO's] want running." It included a video of Gasparino's comments.

"This weekend, Governor O’Malley kicked off his presidential campaign and leaned heavily both into the need for more robust reform of Wall Street and for Democrats to nominate a candidate who is independent of the big banks," the statement said. "His position has apparently gotten notice." (snip)

In a conversation with Business Insider on Monday, O'Malley campaign spokeswoman Haley Morris described cracking down on Wall Street excesses as a "top priority" in the candidate's economic agenda.

"He made it clear that the number one issue that he has zeroed in on is that rebalancing act of getting our economy working again and reining in reckless behavior on Wall Street," Morris said.

Overall, Morris said O'Malley would confront Wall Street with "a mix of structural and accountability reforms." She pointed to a column O'Malley wrote for the Des Moines Register in March in which he outlined some of the specific policies he would support.