Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley said Tuesday he would “welcome” Joe Biden into the Democratic presidential primary.
“Vice President Biden is a very, very good man,” he told CNN during a press gaggle after a roundtable discussion at which he spoke with the black leadership group 20/20 Leaders of America. “I think he cares very passionately about the future of our country and whether or not the American dream is a reality for families or whether we let it turn into a lie.”
Though he did not attack her by name, O’Malley made clear reference to frontrunner Hillary Clinton, using a concise and firm tone as he alluded to what many call the Clinton machine.
“People are looking for alternatives. They don’t like being told who they’re supposed to be voting for and they don’t like the sinking sense in the air that somehow big money determines who our nominee is going to be.”
Speculation about another potential Biden presidential run intensified over the weekend after a close confident of the late Beau Biden joined the SuperPAC Draft Biden. Just yesterday, former South Carolina Democratic Chairman Dick Harpootlian told CNN that “five major political people in South Carolina” had called him about joining a Draft Biden effort in the Palmetto State. Harpootlian pointed out that two of those people were proclaimed Clinton supporters who would “jump to Biden” if he entered the race.
During the roundtable, the former governor also laid out a plan for a constitutional amendment to protect voting rights, which CNN first reported.
This was the governor’s first visit to South Carolina since he announced his bid for presidency almost two months ago.