Former Maryland governor and his PAC endorse Karl Dean for TN governor

Former Maryland governor and 2016 presidential candidate Martin O’Malley has endorsed Karl Dean for governor, reports the Nashville Post.

“I am honored to have the support of Gov. O’Malley and his Win Back Your State PAC,” Dean commented (in a Facebook post). “Tennessee’s next governor needs to be a creative problem solver who is going to find common ground for the entire state. Gov. O’Malley is working all across the country to make sure that happens.”

O’Malley served two terms as mayor of Baltimore and two terms as governor before launching a failed presidential bid during which he ran a distant third to Hillary Clinton and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary. Dean, the former two-time mayor of Nashville, is hoping to follow O’Malley’s path to the Capitol (although, one suspects, without the unflattering depiction in an HBO drama).

“After another wave of Democratic primary wins across the country this week, it is clear that the tide is changing and the country is hungry for a fresh start,” O’Malley said in a press release. “There has never been a more crucial time to win back our states and take back our country, that’s for sure.”

Since his primary defeat, O’Malley has launched the Win Back Your State PAC, focused on supporting Democratic candidates in states with GOP control. The PAC’s endorsement comes with a donation of at least $1,000, training for campaign staff and a promise that O’Malley will campaign on Dean’s behalf.

“His creative, problem-solving experience makes him the perfect candidate to lead the state,” the PAC stated about Dean in announcing its endorsement. “When Karl Dean is governor, no community in Tennessee will be forgotten.”