By Betselot Wondimu ‘15

It is ridiculously early to be thinking about the 2016 Presidential Election, but Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley has been making some bold moves since Barack Obama’s reelection. His rise to national recognition truly took off in 2013, when he led legislative reforms in legalizing same-sex marriage, implementing gun control measures and repealing capital punishment. He admitted he has presidential aspirations in a “Face the Nation” interview in late February of 2014, and his relative success as a governor would definitely support his campaign.

Although O’Malley is respectably progressive, his hopes of a serious presidential bid are low. A Baltimore Sun poll revealed that he is the third choice among Maryland Democrats for the Democratic nomination in 2016, falling well behind Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden. O’Malley completed his most memorable year as governor in 2013; with rankings this low in his prime and his agenda checklist now essentially complete, he may not be a part of the conversation in 2016. Unless O’Malley does something miraculous in the next two years, it is doubtful that he will have a chance at making it to the White House.