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Iowa can make people famous "overnight," says O'Malley

Tracy Samilton
/
Michigan Radio

Former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley doesn't seem worried about his single-digit position in the polls.

O'Malley is running for the Democratic nomination for president, and is currently running far behind Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

"A person can become very, very famous in our country overnight, once the people of Iowa make their determination," O'Malley told reporters outside the Arbor Brewing Company in Ann Arbor Wednesday night, where he was to attend a private fundraiser. "In fact, President Obama defeated the inevitable front-runner" eight years ago in that very first contest, he noted.

O'Malley says he supports making college more affordable, raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, and making it easier, not harder, for people to join labor unions.

Credit Tracy Samilton / Michigan Radio
/
Michigan Radio
Democratic president candidate and former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley holds a press conference in Ann Arbor

"Most of us – 70% of us are making the same or less than we were ten or 12 years ago," says O'Malley. "And that's not the American dream. That's not how our economy and our country's supposed to work." 

O'Malley says he came to Michigan to meet with leaders of the United Auto Workers. 

His next stop is Iowa. 

Tracy Samilton covers energy and transportation, including the auto industry and the business response to climate change for Michigan Public. She began her career at Michigan Public as an intern, where she was promptly “bitten by the radio bug,” and never recovered.