As the race for 2016 heats up, former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley has started vying for the Democratic spot in the presidential race. O'Malley took a swipe at his Democratic counterpart, Hillary Clinton, as well as potential Republican candidate Jeb Bush over the weekend.

On ABC's "This Week," O'Malley made comments about the possible Clinton and Bush runs, retracting his 2007 endorsement for the-then candidate Clinton.

"Let's be honest here, the presidency of the United States is not some crown to be passed between two families, it is an awesome and sacred trust that to be earned, and exercised on behalf of the American people," he told host George Stephanopoulos, explaining that the country needs new leadership and perspectives.

Though he did not formally announce he would be running, O'Malley said the American people needed a strong candidate who will stand up to Wall Street. He does not see that in the potential candidates running.

He claimed Wall Street owned one party and was bullying the other.

"In order for us to make an economy again where people can work hard and get ahead, we need a president who is on our side, a president who is willing to take on powerful, wealthy, special interests in order restore that sort of American economy where wherever you start on the earnings spectrum, you can get ahead through your hard work," he said, adding that the country has seen 12 years of declining wages.

He is unsure whether or not Clinton is up to the challenge; however, he did point out his achievements in Maryland.

"What I know for my own part is in Maryland, we did the things that worked in order to attain the highest median income in the country. ... And we also followed policies of inclusion when it comes to marriage equality, the DREAM Act, common sense rights for new Americans like driver's licenses so that they could take care of their families and also reinforce this American dream," he explained.

O'Malley is setting himself up to be the more economically progressive than Clinton, aiming at winning over left-leaning voters.

According to Bloomberg, O'Malley has expressed support for the return of the Glass-Steagall Act.

Dating back to the Great Depression, the act separated commercial and investment banks but was dismantled during the Clinton administration. Its replacement, Dodd-Frank, passed in 2010, did not have the teeth needed to curb deregulation.

In Iowa last week he said, "[Democrats] must not allow another Wall Street meltdown to bring down hard-working families."

"Today, most Republicans in Congress are hell-bent on disassembling the Dodd-Frank Act," O'Malley's PAC wrote in an email to supporters last week. "And too many Democrats have been complicit in the backslide toward less regulation."