Martin O’Malley to suspend campaign
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WASHINGTON (CNN) — Martin O’Malley will suspend his presidential campaign on Monday night, sources close to the former Maryland governor told CNN.
The sources said O’Malley will make the announcement at 10:30 p.m. ET at his caucus party at Wooly’s, a live music venue in Des Moines, Iowa.
The news comes after O’Malley did not register support in Iowa caucus results. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton holds a razor-thin edge over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Iowa caucuses.
O’Malley entered the race on May 30, but never cracked double-digits in national polls and struggled to gain traction with more liberal voters as Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, emerged as Clinton’s leading challenger.
Despite the poll numbers, O’Malley competed aggressively in Iowa and New Hampshire, pushing the Democratic National Committee to add debates. He had staked a strong showing in Iowa to fuel his candidacy, which was focused on being an alternative to Clinton. He crisscrossed the state seeking support but was unable to establish a strong foothold before Sanders came in and rallied liberal and young Democrats around his candidacy.