“The third-place finisher, Martin O’Malley, energized the crowd when he warned against “turning the Democratic Party over to a handful of billionaires who pull strings behind curtains and try to walk our elected officials on short leashes like dogs.” The outgoing DNC leader, Jaime Harrison, repeatedly denounced what he said were outside threats against how DNC members planned to vote, referencing reports of “having donors call and say we’re going to pull funding because of their vote.” And when one of the chair candidates, Marianne Williamson, dropped out and endorsed Martin, she hailed him as the best candidate to end the “billionaire-funded corruption” in the DNC’s ranks. How much that mood benefited Martin is up for debate. He said at one forum that he doesn’t “rub elbows with billionaires” — a perceived shot at Wikler — but Martin didn’t get more specific than that as he closed the race expressing confidence in his chances and feeling little pressure to go more negative.”