Self-help author Marianne Williamson has officially announced that she will be seeking the Democrat nomination for president in 2024. Williamson is the first Democrat to say she is willing to try and take down the incumbent, Joe Biden despite her long-shot odds of doing so. While fellow Democrats were quick to dismiss her ambitions, it should be noted that far from threatening to add lava lamps and scented oils to the Oval Office décor, the writer and spiritualist is a serious contender who – although extremely unlikely to win her party’s full support – has just enough juice to upset the primary applecart.
‘Let Me In’
Speaking at Union Station in Washington, DC, on Saturday evening, Williamson took aim at Biden’s stance as the “unity president.” She said:
“We know that this country is plagued by many challenges now, not the least of which is hatred and division, which is greater than any of us have experienced … It is our job to create a vision of justice and love that is so powerful that it will override the forces of hatred and injustice and fear.”
In 2020, political pundits wrote that Williamson made little of her White House bid, perhaps treating it as more of an effort to raise her personal profile. The candidate responded to such criticism by saying she “didn’t want to get in the way” of a progressive contender – specifically Bernie Sanders, who she later endorsed. But for the self-styled spiritual healer, no such candidate is presently in the 2024 race.
The Williamson Pooh-Poohing Begins
Democratic activist and lawyer Aaron Parnas was quick to urge the Fourth Estate not to grant credence to Williamson’s campaign. In a swiftly deleted tweet, he argued:
“The media needs to stop legitimizing Marianne Williamson’s campaign for president… President Biden has been one of the most revolutionary Presidents in recent history and has the full support of Democrats across America. There is no legitimate primary. Biden is our nominee.”
Why the tweet was deleted is unclear, but as a high-profile lawyer and political player, perhaps Parnas thought it best not to downplay the importance of the democratic process.
Executive director of Voters of Tomorrow, Santiago Mayer, argued, “Let’s be clear: Marianne Williamson is a joke. She’s a fundamentally unserious candidate running as a stunt to sell her books.” This point of view was similarly espoused by MSNBC’s Lindy Li – herself a former Biden delegate – who said, “The best way to handle her is to not address her at all.”
Marianne Williamson (Photo by Gary Gershoff/Getty Images)
A Mistake in the Making?
Democrat leadership could be in danger of following Li’s advice and alienating a sizeable number of usually sympathetic voters. It is no secret that President Biden is – while not necessarily unpopular – not exactly the unity candidate. Consider the most recent Economist/YouGov poll released at the beginning of March: Just 43% of Democrat voters want the 46th president to make a 2024 run. Among the all-important Independents, only 17% want him at the top of his party’s ticket. For comparison, the same poll suggests that Donald Trump has the support of 53% of Republicans and 24% of Independents in his next presidential run.
Williamson is indeed a long-shot candidate for the Democratic nomination, but she is offering something to the party’s voters that unified support of Joe Biden does not: a choice. The betting markets presently have her at 80/1 to be the nominee, on par with Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and slightly behind Sen. Bernie Sanders (66/1) .
The mere act of campaigning against the sitting president should be a warning for Democrat movers and shakers. How they choose to deal with her, however, could be of more significance to the voting public than her actual candidacy.
