John Fritze of the Baltimore Sun has the details.
“My decision is made,” O’Malley told a crowd of several hundred at Federal Hill Park. “Today, to you — and to all who can hear my voice — I declare that I am a candidate for President of the United States.”
Despite a long career in state and local office — and a deep inventory of liberal accomplishments in Annapolis — O’Malley starts as a decided long shot, forced to campaign in the shadow of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a onetime ally.
Early polls show Clinton with commanding leads in Iowa, New Hampshire and everywhere else, including O’Malley’s home state of Maryland. He has less support than Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, another declared candidate for the Democratic nomination, and Vice President Joe Biden, who has not said whether he will run.
I watched the speech, and thought it was actually quite good. Short, punchy, good applause lines.