The former Mayor of Baltimore wins a wave of new female fans as the “President of Hot Dads.”Getty Images

Although he may not have brought home the gold in Tuesday night’s first Democratic debate, Irish-American Presidential candidate Martin O’Malley certainly came up trumps for some. Unfortunately, mostly for reasons that would get him elected if this was high school and not an election for the most powerful position in the United States of America.

Yes, if former Baltimore mayor and Maryland governor O’Malley was running for Homecoming King, he’d be leading the pack right now, having been unofficially elected by New York Magazine as “President of the Hot Dads.”

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As the five main democratic candidates hashed it out for the first time in a lively two-hour discussion covering gun control, the war on drugs, Syria, and education, some social media users were less concerned with the issues that will affect the future of the country and more concerned with how incredibly handsome the 52-year-old father of four looked.

O’Malley has already been lauded for his Kennedy-like charm and good looks, but during the debate Twitter exploded with a wave of Dad-love confessions. He didn’t even have to bring out his guitar!

It must be down to his Irish roots (he can trace his family back to Mayo and Galway). Irish men are, after all, some of the best in the world.

He also has an incredibly accomplished wife, however, Baltimore City District Court Judge Katie O’Malley, to whom he’s been married for longer than I’ve been on this Earth. Still, we look forward to seeing more of O’Malley as the campaign progresses.

H/T: NYMag.com