Martin O'Malley plays in a Celtic rock band, and 9 other facts to know about the presidential hopeful

By ISABELLE CHAPMAN

Former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley announced Friday, after much speculation, that he would join the race for 2016. At a rally in Baltimore Saturday, the Democrat proudly told a crowd of about 1,000: "I'm running for you."

O'Malley enters the race hoping to shift the focus away from rival Hillary Clinton. The Democratic field is sparse, but still O'Malley, despite his squeaky-clean reputation and scandal-free political career, is way behind in the polls.

No doubt, O'Malley's biggest obstacle between him and the Democratic nomination is Clinton. Indeed, the former secretary of state doesn't order Chipotle without Twitter exploding. The hype surrounding her is hard to compete with -- she has more money, more experience, more years of navigating the political realm.

O'Malley will certainly point all of this out, and use his relative youth as an advantage. And regardless of how he stacks up next to the political giant, he is a Democratic dream. He thinks abortion should be a woman's choice, is environmentally conscious, is anti-capital punishment and for gay marriage. He should be able to appeal to young liberal types: he plays in a Celtic rock band and the mayor in "The Wire" was loosely based on the fit, personable Washington D.C. native. He doesn't have a family dynasty following him around, and his lack of media attention so far may serve him well in the long run.

But still, only .8 percent of Democrats or left-leaning Independents would back O'Malley. Compare this to frontrunner Clinton -- a whopping 63.6 percent say they would vote for the former secretary of state. He even trails self-proclaimed socialist Bernie Sanders who is raking in 8.8 percent, and Senator Elizabeth Warren (12.5 percent) who has adamantly said she will not be seeking the Democratic nomination.

Click through above to learn more about the 2016 hopeful.