Martin O’Malley’s bid for the Democratic presidential nomination will be aided by a new super PAC with a name — Generation Forward –that’s a not-so-subtle jab at Hillary Clinton.
The former Maryland governor is set to make his candidacy official on Saturday. Two days ahead of his announcement, the super PAC was launched by two of his home-state allies, longtime fundraiser Damian O’Doherty and former spokesman Ron Boehmer.
Its finance director, leading an uphill money-raising battle against Clinton, is Susan Smith, a former aide to Democratic Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski.
The name telegraphs a key theme of O’Malley’s campaign: That the 52-year-old is the Democratic Party’s future and the 67-year-old Clinton is its past.
O’Doherty made as much clear in a statement announcing the formation of Generation Forward PAC, saying it’s “time to pass the torch.”
“We cannot choose to go back to the politics of the twentieth century. We need new leadership for the twenty-first century,” he said.
O’Malley will join Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders as Clinton’s Democratic rivals. Others who could enter the race include former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb and former Rhode Island senator and governor Lincoln Chafee.