Marianne Williamson 2020 presidential campaign
The 2020 presidential campaign of Marianne Williamson, an author, was announced on January 28, 2019, after the initial formation of an exploratory committee on November 15, 2018. Williamson's bid for the Democratic nomination was her second political campaign, after previously running as an independent to represent California's 33rd congressional district in 2014. Prior to her candidacy, Williamson was known as "Oprah's spiritual adviser" due to her frequent appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show.
Marianne Williamson for President
Marianne Williamson
Spiritual teacher and author[1]
November 15, 2018[2]
January 28, 2019[3]
January 10, 2020
Maurice Daniel (campaign manager)[5]
Paul Hodes (senior advisor and New Hampshire state director)[6]
US$7,982,760.87[7] (December 31, 2019)
Join the Evolution[8]
Williamson described herself as a "pretty straight-line progressive democrat". Her policy positions include $100 billion in reparations for slavery, a "Medicare for All model" for healthcare, a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants without a "serious criminal background", establishing a "Department of Peace" to greatly expand the use of diplomacy and mediation, and support for the Green New Deal.
On January 10, 2020, Williamson announced she had ended her presidential campaign. She pledged to support the eventual Democratic nominee,[9] but later announced her endorsement for Bernie Sanders at a February 23 rally in Austin, Texas.[10]
Background[edit]
On August 2, 2018, The Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs revealed that Marianne Williamson,[11] a New Age author and spiritual leader known as "Oprah's spiritual adviser" thanks to her frequent appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show,[1] was considering a bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. He reported that she had visited Iowa earlier that week, appearing at the Des Moines area as well as Fairfield, a cultural magnet for practitioners of the Transcendental Meditation technique and where the Maharishi University of Management is based.[11] Williamson had previously contested California's 33rd congressional district in the 2014 elections as a no party preference candidate, securing 13% of the vote in the state's top-two primary after self-funding $2 million in a campaign supported by Alanis Morissette and Dennis Kucinich.[11]
She made several more visits to Iowa in September and October, stopping in Sioux City and Polk City, in addition to returning to Fairfield for small events with fans and local Democrats.[12][13]