If you’re wondering where former Gov. Martin J. O’Malley (D) will be over Labor Day weekend, look no further than eastern Iowa, where he’ll be serving as a surrogate for the presidential campaign of former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke (D).
O’Malley, who was spending a lot of time in Iowa himself four years ago as he sought the Democratic presidential nomination, plans to hit six events on Sunday and Monday, according to a campaign itinerary released by O’Rourke’s campaign.
O’Malley will be doing the surrogate thing while the candidate himself “is on a swing through South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and Pennsylvania to visit communities directly harmed by Donald Trump’s administration,” the campaign said.
O’Malley’s appearances include three Labor Day picnics, a Labor Day chicken fry, and two events Sunday billed as “Beers With Governor O’Malley” – one at a joint called the Smokestack in Dubuque, the other at The Irish Democrat (really) in Cedar Rapids.
O’Malley used an op-ed that appeared in The Des Moines Register and other Iowa newspapers earlier this year to announce that he would not seek the White House in 2020 – and to endorse O’Rourke. He called his fellow Irish-American rock-and-roller “the new leader who can best bring us together and turn us around to create that better American future.”