Democrat Marianne Williamson is ending her long-shot bid for president.
The 71-year-old self-help author and former spiritual adviser to Oprah Winfrey announced Wednesday night that she was suspending her campaign that sought to challenge President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination. The decision came after exceedingly weak showings in the early primaries, in which Williamson received no more than 4% support in any contest this year — garnering fewer than 11,000 total votes.
"I wish I could give a personal hug to every person who encouraged me on this journey. So many had faith and believed in what was possible," Williamson said in a statement. "While we did not succeed at running a winning political campaign, I know in my heart we impacted the political ethers."
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Williamson's political career began in 2014 when she ran as an independent to represent California's 33rd Congressional District — which she lost. Then in early 2019 she formally announced her candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Despite then securing a spot in the first two Democratic primary debates, she failed to meet the requirements for every subsequent one. And while Williamson was the most-Googled candidate after the second debate, she couldn't break more than 1% support in various national polls throughout her campaign.
U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota is the only remaining candidate in the race to secure the Democratic presidential nomination over incumbent President Biden, who has scored blowout victories in the early primary states of South Carolina and Nevada.
