Democratic presidential hopeful Marianne Williamson speaks a campaign stop at the Keene Public Library in Keene, N.H., Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. (Kristopher Radder/The Brattleboro Reformer via AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) – Self-help author and spiritual guru Marianne Williamson on Wednesday announced the end of her long-shot Democratic challenge to President Joe Biden.
The 71-year-old onetime spiritual adviser to Oprah Winfrey contemplated suspending her campaign last month after winning just 5,000 votes in New Hampshire’s primary, writing that she “had to decide whether now is the time for a dignified exit or continue on our campaign journey.” But Williamson ultimately opted to continue on to the Democratic primaries in South Carolina and Nevada.
Williamson first ran for president in 2020 and made national headlines by calling for a ” moral uprising “ against then-President Donald Trump while proposing the creation of the Department of Peace. She also argued that the federal government should pay large financial reparations to Black Americans as atonement for centuries of slavery and discrimination.
Among nationally known Democrats, Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips is still running against Biden, who has scored blowout victories in South Carolina and Nevada and easily won in New Hampshire – despite not being on the ballot – after his allies mounted a write-in campaign.
