O’Malley bid

O’Malley backers launch super PAC ahead of Democrat’s presidential bid

By John Wagner

Associates of former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley are launching a super PAC intended to bolster the Democrat’s prospects as he formally announces his long shot presidential bid in Baltimore on Saturday.

Money raised by Generation Forward will be used to run an independent campaign on O’Malley’s behalf in early nominating states, its founders said. The political action committee’s name is aimed at sending a specific message: that 52-year-old O’Malley is better suited to represent younger generations than 67-year-old Hillary Rodham Clinton, the Democratic front-runner.

“This is not your grandmother’s super PAC,” Damian O’Doherty, the group’s chief executive, said in an interview Wednesday. He described plans for outreach on the ground and via digital media, as well as collaboration with other like-minded groups — a departure, he said, from the traditional super PAC model of simply raising money to air TV ads.

It is too early to tell what impact the group might have — O’Doherty declined to discuss fundraising goals — but its arrival is further testament to the changed world of campaign financing.

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision, super PACs aligned with presidential candidates have become commonplace, particularly on the Republican side. Unlike candidate committees, which limit individual contributions to $2,700, super PACs face no restrictions on how much they can accept from donors.

O’Malley voiced reservations about the use of super PACs during a trip to New Hampshire this month, as he was peppered with questions about reports that Clinton gave her blessing to the efforts of Priorities USA Action, a group supporting her, even as she decried the role of money in politics.

“I would hope that in the Democratic Party that all of our candidates might discourage super PACs from being involved,” O’Malley said. He added that he was wrestling with “how we can put forward a campaign of principle and substance, a campaign that acknowledges what’s wrong with our [financing] system, and yet be able to compete.”

O’Doherty said that he had not spoken with O’Malley’s soon-to-be campaign aides about the establishment of a super PAC, pointing out that he did not “need or expect any blessing from Martin O’Malley.”

An O’Malley spokeswoman did not return a phone call requesting comment.

By law, once candidates declare for office, they cannot coordinate with super PACs supporting them. Candidates can appear at events for super PAC donors, as long as they do not seek large donations themselves.

O’Doherty, 41, the co-founder of a Baltimore-based public affairs firm, is active in Maryland politics and has known O’Malley for decades. He is starting the PAC with Ron Boehmer, 25, who served as O’Malley’s press secretary shortly before the governor left office in January. O’Doherty and Boehmer work in the same firm as Steve Kearney, a former O’Malley communications director. O’Doherty said Kearney has no role in the super PAC.

O’Doherty said that his group eventually wants to support other forward-looking candidates who understand issues, such as college debt, that are burdening the younger generation. But for now, he said, “job one is to advance the Martin O’Malley candidacy as far as possible.”

O’Doherty said that his group had secured office space in the Dupont Circle area of the District and was planning to expand its presence around the country by setting up shop at locations offered by WeWork, a provider of shared office space for entrepreneurs.