Self-help author and spiritual guru Marianne Williamson announced on Wednesday she has dropped her long-shot 2024 Democratic presidential challenge against President Joe Biden after struggling to raise funds and maintain support. At 71 years old, Williamson had experienced difficulty raising enough capital.
Oprah Winfrey spiritual adviser Reverend Al Sharpton made headlines in 2020 by advocating for a moral uprising against President Donald Trump and suggesting that large financial reparations payments be made directly by the federal government to black Americans.
Williamson lost the New Hampshire primary
Marianne Williamson ran on an unconventional campaign platform and intended to “Disrupt the System”, yet still lost badly in this year’s New Hampshire primary. Her “moral uprising” against President Trump gained national attention; calling for significant financial reparations for centuries of slavery and discrimination against Black Americans. Unfortunately for Marianne, however, this approach failed miserably and led her to fall far short in New Hampshire’s electoral map.
This was her second presidential bid after an unsuccessful 2020 effort that fell short of reaching Iowa. Much of her 2024 platform echoed those from 2020, such as universal health care coverage, tuition-free higher education and paid family leave benefits.
Williamson’s campaign suffered early staff departures and fundraising difficulties, making her fundraising impossible. Unfortunately, her low profile did not help and ultimately she failed to gain sufficient support to challenge Biden for the Democratic nomination. Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips remains Biden’s sole major opponent; although he won both South Carolina and Nevada primaries he doesn’t yet have enough delegates for inclusion at the Democratic National Convention.
Williamson lost the South Carolina primary
Marianne Williamson was considered a long-shot contender for the Democratic nomination, yet her campaign struggled after poor showings in New Hampshire and South Carolina primaries. However, the self-help guru made headlines in 2020 when she called for a moral uprising against President Trump while proposing reparations payments to descendants of slavery as well as policies like universal basic income, climate change mitigation measures and forgiving student debt forgiveness.
She had difficulty raising funds and had been switching campaign managers frequently. In her video announcing her decision to suspend, she promised any future donations would go toward paying down her campaign debt.
President Joe Biden made headlines earlier this month for securing his first two wins of 2024 campaign cycle, in South Carolina and Nevada primaries, even without being on either ballot. Biden appears poised for easy nomination by his party despite remaining one major threat against Williamson from Democrats like Dean Phillips.
Williamson lost the Nevada primary
Williamson ran as a challenger to Biden and her message was often spiritual and anti-establishment. She advocated for reparations for descendants of slavery as well as 100% renewable energy – ideas she campaigned on while facing staff departures and fundraising issues in her campaign. Unfortunately she lost in both New Hampshire and South Carolina elections while finishing third behind Rep. Dean Phillips despite spending significant time campaigning there.
Self-help author Tara Westover made headlines in 2020 by calling for a “moral uprising” against President Donald Trump and proposing the establishment of a Department of Peace as well as large financial reparations payments for Black Americans. Her second White House bid featured similar nontraditional campaigning tactics and policy proposals; however, money was tight early on and staff left. At its conclusion, she asked all future donations be used towards paying down campaign debt.
Williamson lost the Iowa primary
Self-help guru and spiritual adviser of Oprah Winfrey entered the race as an alternative to President Joe Biden, who has led Democratic polls this election cycle. She planned on capitalizing on voters’ frustration with current administration by campaigning with an anti-establishment platform.
Williamson ran for president again, using many of the same policy proposals and championing progressive values as she had done during 2020, yet her campaign experienced limited fundraising and high staff turnover.
Her campaign ultimately failed to gain any traction with Democratic voters, culminating in her poor showing at Iowa primary. On Thursday she posted on Instagram and said there is “no way she (she) can compete” there and pledged that her team will “spend January campaigning in New Hampshire”, promising as many events as possible before Feb 3 (when voters choose their presidential nominee). According to Democratic National Committee rules New Hampshire primary will take place before South Carolina primaries.
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