O'Malley makes presidential campaign stop in Tennessee.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley knows he needs to make a big splash in early presidential contests like Iowa and New Hampshire, but says he's already looking ahead to the next group of primary states like Tennessee in his bid for the Democratic nomination.

O'Malley traveled to Nashville on Thursday for a fundraiser and to begin laying his campaign groundwork among campus and county organizers. He said he was undaunted by the heavy Republican trend in Tennessee in recent years, pointing to the success for former Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen - who was an early contributor to his presidential campaign.

O'Malley chided Tennessee's current Republican Gov. Bill Haslam for resorting to "corporate welfare" to lure Italian gun-maker Beretta from Maryland after gun-control measures were enacted there in 2013.

http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/29901087/omalley-makes-presidential-campaign-stop-in-tennessee