O'Malley, former governor, jumps into US presidential race

AFP/Baltimore

Former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, a onetime Hillary Clinton loyalist, jumped into the US presidential race Saturday, positioning himself as a more progressive alternative to the overwhelming Democratic frontrunner.

Calling for a revival of the American dream, which he said was "hanging by a thread," O'Malley declared "that I am a candidate for president of the United States, and I'm running for you."

O'Malley, 52, is youthful, charismatic, and brings to his campaign decades of executive leadership as a Baltimore mayor and state governor, in contrast with Clinton's decades as a Washington insider.

But he is an unknown to the vast majority of Americans who live outside the Washington-New York corridor where his political successes have been more broadly recognized.

He joins 67-year-old Clinton, the former first lady, senator and secretary of state, and liberal independent Senator Bernie Sanders, 73, in the race for the Democratic nomination.

The narrow Democratic race couldn't be more different than the stampede of politicians seeking the Republican nomination.

Eight candidates already in the Republican nominating contest and eight more likely to jump in, including Jeb Bush, the son and brother of two former presidents.

O'Malley took a swipe at the two families that have led their parties for much of the past quarter century, saying he knew Wall Street would have no problem accepting another Bush or another Clinton in the White House. 

"The presidency is not a crown to be passed back and forth... between two royal families," O'Malley boomed.

O'Malley launched his campaign in Baltimore, a city rocked by riots last month. 

The violence highlighted aggressive "zero-tolerance" policing tactics instituted by O'Malley while he was mayor, which lowered the crime rate but led to soaring arrest numbers and accusations of discrimination against Baltimore's inner-city minorities.

"It was a heartbreaking night for all of us," O'Malley said.

"But there is something to be learned from that night, and there is something to be offered to our country from those flames," he said.

Several people opposed to the policing tactics protested at the back of the O'Malley launch, chanting "Black lives matter" and "You are lying!" 

But they did not ultimately disrupt the event, and O'Malley kept speaking.