WASHINGTON — Martin O'Malley is relying heavily on Marylanders to finance his long-shot bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, an analysis of his most recent data shows, an indication that his campaign is struggling to build momentum in donor-heavy states such as California and New York.
The two-term governor collected 47 percent of his campaign cash from Maryland, according to a Baltimore Sun analysis of campaign finance reports for the second quarter. By contrast, Sen. Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign relied on his home state of Vermont for only 7 percent of his donations.
The outsized contribution from Maryland is a reflection in part of the early state of a contest that has been dominated by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Clinton collected $47.5 million from April through June. Sanders raised $15 million; O'Malley picked up just over $2 million.
O'Malley spent years organizing fundraisers across the country as finance chair, vice chair and chair of the Democratic Governors Association. Other politicians — notably Bill Clinton — have used leadership positions in the DGA to develop national networks of donors.
But many of the donors in the campaign finance report O'Malley filed with the Federal Election Commission this week would be more familiar in Annapolis than in Des Moines or Concord.
Former state Sen. Francis X. Kelly, the chairman of a Hunt Valley insurance firm, gave O'Malley $2,700.
"We've been friends for a long time," said Kelly, who served as a Democrat but is now a Republican."We disagree on a lot of politics, but he's a friend."
O'Malley did not announce his campaign until the end of May, when the reporting period was two-thirds over. Clinton announced her campaign in mid-April; Sanders jumped into the race a few weeks later.
Since then, Clinton and Sanders both received the largest share of their money from California, and then New York, where Clinton was twice elected senator.
For Clinton, 21 percent of her money — about $8 million — came from California. An additional 19 percent came from New York.
O'Malley's campaign dismissed the importance of the money race this early in the cycle.
"What's important is who's peaking in January, not July," campaign spokeswoman Haley Morris said in a statement.
"We feel great about the reception Governor O'Malley has received so far," she said. "We're confident that the more voters get to learn about his new leadership, progressive values, and record of getting things done, the more they will like him."
In an email soliciting donations on Friday, the O'Malley campaign noted a "hard truth:" that "we're up against campaigns that have raised a lot more than we have."
O'Malley's list of donors includes many longtime allies, some going back to his days as Baltimore's mayor. They include Terry Lierman, the former Maryland Democratic Party chairman; former Maryland Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr., O'Malley's father-in-law; Carla Hayden, the CEO of the Enoch Pratt Free Library; and longtime developer Kenneth R. Banks, a former treasurer of the Maryland Democratic Party.
Within Maryland, the neighborhoods in and around Potomac in Montgomery County and those associated with Lutherville-Timonium were the most generous to O'Malley.
The former governor, who left office in January, is running a campaign to the left of Clinton — but has been crowded out there by the populist Sanders.
Clinton is polling 34 points ahead of Sanders and nearly 53 points ahead of O'Malley in Iowa in the Real Clear Politics average of several leading polls conducted since the end of May.
And his fundraising has been eclipsed by several Republican candidates as well. Former Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon Ben Carson, now a Floridian, raised $8.5 million. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush reported raising $11.4 million.
O'Malley has embraced his underdog status and has managed to draw attention to himself in recent weeks with a series of position papers that are more detailed than what has emerged from the Clinton campaign, or just about anyone else.
His political operation, meanwhile, has ramped up in Iowa, the nation's first caucus state, and an O'Malley-aligned super PAC is preparing to put dozens of staffers on the ground there.
O'Malley got his first taste of presidential politics in the Hawkeye State, working for Gary Hart's 1984 campaign.
"You don't need a lot of money to win in Iowa," said Brad Bannon, a longtime Democratic strategist. "And if he can score a success there, he'll start raising money."
Bannon, like many political observers, believes O'Malley got into the race too late, which allowed Sanders to lock down early liberal donors and establish himself as the progressive counterweight to Clinton. But many analysts believe that Sanders' hold of that ground is tenuous, and if he falters, O'Malley will be able to make headway.
"O'Malley can step up in this race if he can establish himself as the real alternative to Hillary Clinton instead of Sanders," Bannon said.
Jean Bailey, a Howard University professor who serves on the Governor's Commission on African Affairs, gave O'Malley $500.
"He's done an excellent job and I'm sort of disappointed he has not been getting the publicity that he deserves," she said.
"I think he's quite viable."
The analysis includes only itemized donations, those that add up to more than $200. Because Sanders has a huge share of small, unitemized donations — nearly 76 percent of all his money coming from individuals — it is possible he received far more from his home state.
Only 4 percent of O'Malley's donors gave less than $200.
And that might be a space where O'Malley can grow his donor base. Barack Obama relied heavily on small donations made over the Internet during his first campaign.
Doug Kinney, manager of a private equity fund, donated $2,700 to O'Malley.
"O'Malley is a good leader, and he knows how to get stuff done," the Anne Arundel County man said.
Still, Kinney sees the potential for expansion.
"The ability to reach out to 20 million Facebook followers and get them each to give five bucks — that's what you have to do," he said. "You've got to be surrounded by 20-year-old geeks who know how to beat on a key pad."
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Donations by state
A look at the top donor states for individual contributions to the candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Hillary Clinton
State//amount//Percent of total
Calif.//$8M//21 percent
N.Y.//$7.3M//19 percent
Fla.//$3M//8 percent
D.C.//$2.4M//6 percent
Texas//$2M//5 percent
Martin O'Malley
Md.//$882K//47 percent
N.Y.// $142K//8 percent
Calif.//$123K//7 percent
Mass.//$88K//5 percent
Fla.//$80K//4 percent
Bernie Sanders
Calif.//$805K//25 percent
N.Y.// $296K//9 percent
Vt.//$234K//7 percent
Wash.//$197K//6 percent
Mass//$175K//5 percent
Source: Baltimore Sun analysis of Federal Election Commission reports