Marianne Williamson suspends presidential campaign

Marianne Williamson has suspended her campaign for president, she announced on Wednesday night.

The author and speaker placed a distant third during Tuesday night’s Nevada primary, earning just 3% of the vote. President Joe Biden received 89%, and the option “none of these candidates” took 6%.

Williamson had continued her 2024 White House bid through the Nevada primary even as her campaign struggled with momentum and resources after the primary season got off to a chilly start for the candidate in New Hampshire. In the Granite State’s first-in-the-nation contest, she received about 4% of the vote behind Minnesota Rep. Dean Philips’ 20% and Biden’s 66% through a write-in campaign. Williamson did finish ahead of Phillips in the South Carolina Democratic primary on Saturday, however, placing above the challenger who has been considered Biden’s most noteworthy opponent.

On Feb. 26, 2023, Williamson became the first person to challenge the president for the Democratic nomination when she announced her 2024 presidential campaign.

Williamson — who had also run for president in 2020 — announced her bid at Union Station in Washington, D.C. Phillips and progressive commentator Cenk Uygur remain challengers of Biden in the primary race.

“The status quo, ladies and gentlemen and everyone else, will not disrupt itself,” Williamson said as she announced her candidacy. “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.”

Williamson had invested significantly in New Hampshire as a state that might propel candidacy into the mainstream: she held over 200 events over 300 towns across the independent-minded early state that had selected Rep. Bernie Sanders, another progressive, as their presidential primary choice in both 2020 and 2016. Ahead of the contest, she had been in New Hampshire for 17 straight days, participating in over 85 events this month, according to her campaign.

In an interview with ABC News just days before the primary, Williamson indicated she did not have the resources to continue her White House bid if she didn’t get off the ground following the contest. Recent Federal Election Commission filings show that Williamson’s campaign ended 2023 with debts that exceed the amount of cash she has on hand by nearly $400,000.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.