O’Malley says he won’t endorse in primary

Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley said he won’t endorse in the Democratic primary, in his first TV interview since dropping his own presidential bid.

{mosads}”I’ve had terrific conversations with Secretary Clinton and Sen. Sanders, and I have great admiration for both of them, and I look forward to supporting the party’s nominee,” O’Malley said during an interview Thursday with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow. 

While he won’t choose a side during the primaries, he said he would “gladly” vote for either Democrat before supporting GOP candidates Ted Cruz or Donald Trump. 

“Both of these candidates represent a much better vision for our country’s future,” he said. 

O’Malley showed no interest in running for elected office in the future, saying he’ll continue working on climate change and voting rights issues as a citizen.  

“That’s what my family and I are focused on,” he said, adding that he’ll teach in the fall at universities throughout Maryland.  

O’Malley dropped out of the race for the Democratic nomination after a poor showing in the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses, grabbing just 0.6 percent of the vote. 

Maryland voters head to the polls on April 26, and recent polling puts Hillary Clinton up over Bernie Sanders by a significant margin.