Marianne Williamson has kept barnstorming for months across America 鈥 to audiences large and small, from churches and colleges to spiritual centers and soup kitchens 鈥 in a demanding schedule of appearances in her second tenacious, against-the-odds run for the presidency.
The bestselling spiritual author and one-time advisor to Oprah Winfrey didn鈥檛 make it to the 2020 primaries in a wide-open Democratic field. Now she is running against a sitting president from her own party, and the Democratic establishment has closed ranks behind Joe Biden.
Even some of her most devoted followers doubt she can be elected. So why is Williamson even running? She says it鈥檚 the faith she has in herself and the American people.
鈥淭he most important things you do in life, not because there鈥檚 guaranteed success on some external level, but because you feel in your heart it鈥檚 the right thing to do,鈥 Williamson, 71, said during an interview in New York City.
She admits it has been grueling at times 鈥 not just the punishing campaign schedule, but more so the emotional bruising from a barrage of unflattering characterizations.
For her, it鈥檚 鈥渢he ultimate challenge to have tough skin, but a soft and open heart,鈥 she said. But Williamson worries that negative perceptions detract from her policy positions, which include financial reparations for Black Americans and creation of a Department of Peace.
鈥淲hat are the words they use? Wacky, kooky, crystal lady,鈥 she said, listing the names she鈥檚 called. 鈥淧eople will take one line out of a book, completely out of context. That has certainly been done to me. Plus, you know, they lie.鈥
Born in Houston to a Jewish family, Judaism remains her core belief, and she also embraces universal spiritual themes, like loving one another. Williamson came into the spotlight with her popular 1992 book, 鈥淎 Return to Love.鈥 Oprah, highlighting it on her own site, wrote: 鈥淚 have never been more moved by a book.鈥
Williamson, the author of more than a dozen titles and well-known for supporting LGBTQ people, retains a legion of dedicated fans. Millions buy her books, attend her lectures and engage with her on TikTok.
鈥淪he is extremely sincere in her beliefs, wise in many ways even,鈥 said Issac Bailey, a communications professor at Davidson College in North Carolina who has written about Williamson鈥檚 faith and politics. 鈥淏ut she also has a streak that takes her beyond the pale.鈥
He pointed to her wariness and sharp criticism of government vaccine mandates that came up during her last campaign. She later said she supports vaccines.
鈥淚鈥檓 a socially middle of the road Jew who goes to the doctor,鈥 she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 not a crystal lady. I understand how important science is.鈥
Williamson entered politics with an unsuccessful independent congressional campaign in California in 2014, then broke onto the national stage two years later as a vocal supporter of Bernie Sanders鈥 failed presidential bid.
In 2020, she . She acknowledges making what she calls 鈥渃ringeworthy鈥 comments back then, like how she would harness love to defeat former President Donald Trump.
鈥淥nce they could be contextualized in a way that made me appear silly, there was almost no getting past the mockery,鈥 she said.
People may embrace quasi-spiritual language in their private lives, but if it鈥檚 from political candidates, it typically doesn鈥檛 play well on the campaign trail, said Galen Watts, a sociology and legal studies professor at the University of Waterloo in Canada.
But this is not new territory for Williamson. For years, she has been under fire from intellectuals who call her theology too shallow, from politicians who mock her ideas, and more recently from some former campaign staff who say she鈥檚 irascible and is only trying to sell more books. She concedes that she probably swore more than she should have in her last campaign, but scoffs at the book-selling gibe.
鈥淭he way to sell books is by going on a book tour, not a presidential campaign," she said. 鈥淭he way to sell books in my field is to never mention politics.鈥
Some have questioned her political inexperience. But she dismisses that: 鈥淚 reject the notion that only those whose careers have been ensconced in the car that drove us into this ditch are the only people we should consider qualified to drive us out of the ditch.鈥
She , and now is arguably the best-known Democrat still challenging Biden for the party鈥檚 2024 presidential nomination. But recent polls show her running more than 60 percentage points behind.
She is well-liked by many young people, including Jose Serna, a 21-year-old at Augustana University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Serna hopes she stays in the race 鈥渂ecause she is illuminating the ideas that young people care about鈥 including Medicare for all, equitable wages and affordable housing.
鈥淲hile I do believe that it is unlikely that Marianne will win the nomination, it is not because of her policies,鈥 he said, citing a common complaint by Williamson and her backers about a lack of media attention.
Marie Griffith, a professor of women, gender and sexuality studies at Washington University in St. Louis, says there's a practical reason why Williamson stands no chance of winning.
鈥淪he has no connection that I know of to Democratic machine politics 鈥 meaning the people who raise all the money and make or break the political careers of those identifying as Democrats,鈥 Griffith said.
Williamson talks at times in religious and spiritual terms to describe America as a nation in need of confession and atonement. She worries about vast economic inequality and wants to declare a climate emergency.
One of her signature policy proposals would have the government pay Black citizens reparations for centuries of enslavement and discrimination. She advocated for this in her 1997 book 鈥淭he Healing of America.鈥 Today, she proposes creating a council of Black academic, cultural and political leaders to disperse at least $1 trillion to Black Americans over two decades.
Author and rabbi Jay Michaelson lauded Williamson for raising the issue before other political candidates, and for her work during the AIDS crisis, but in 2019 he wrote a scathing critique of her bid for president. He called her 鈥渟elfish, deluded and dumb by denigrating science鈥 and said she gives spiritually a bad name.
Michaelson, in a recent interview, said he agreed with Williamson 鈥渢hat our spiritual commitments and our religious commitments should impact our political lives.鈥 But he says she will remain a fringe candidate because some of her policy positions are too radical for many.
"To say, 鈥榃e need a politics of love鈥 without explaining what that is,鈥 he said. 鈥淥r that we need a new paradigm, or that we need some kind of revolution 鈥 that doesn鈥檛 play on Main Street.鈥
Williamson denies denigrating science and disputes broader criticisms of her campaign.
鈥淭his idea that I am unserious 鈥 my campaign is the one talking about one in four Americans living with medical debt. My campaign is the one talking about the fact that the majority of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck,鈥 she said.
鈥淢y campaign is the most serious campaign.鈥
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP鈥檚 with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
