Politics Marianne Williamson launches bid for Democratic National Committee chair

Self-help author and two-time presidential candidate Marianne Williamson declared her intention to run for Democratic National Committee chair on Thursday. After losing the Senate and White House in November, Williamson outlined her strategy for the party’s future in an open letter to DNC members that was made public online. In order to enable her to attend the January candidate forums, she asked Democrats to sign a petition. At its winter meeting on February 1, DNC members will choose the party’s next chair and other officers. Four forums will also be held so that candidates for DNC chair can address party members and discuss their plans for the Democratic Party.

“As chairwoman, I will work to reinvent the party from the inside out,” Williamson stated in her letter to Congress. “For if we want a new president in four years, and a new Congress in two, then we must immediately get about the task of creating a new party.” According to her strategy, the Democratic Party “advocates unequivocally for the working people of the United States” and “listens more, and makes people feel that their thoughts and feelings are as important as their wallets.” According to Williamson, the group will possess “the humility to recognize we need to look in the mirror, and be willing to reinvent ourselves.”

“We’ll inspire instead than merely fight. We shall instill a strong sense of patriotism and a sense of connection between the American people and their nation’s rich history,” she added. “Our ultimate success will be creating in people’s minds a sense that in order to further that legacy, your smartest move is to vote for Democrats.” Williamson joins a group of contenders that also includes Ben Wikler, chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party; Ken Martin, head of the Democratic Party’s Minnesota branch; and Martin O’Malley, former governor of Maryland. The incumbent DNC head, Jaime Harrison, has decided not to run for reelection.

In 2020 and 2024, the 72-year-old Williamson ran for the Democratic presidential nomination. She became President Biden’s first primary opponent and the first Democrat to run for president in the most recent election. Williamson, a writer and spiritual counselor, put her presidential campaign on hold in early February but returned a few weeks later. Following the conclusion of the June primaries, she declared on social media that she was “no longer a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president.” The Democratic Party finally nominated Vice President Kamala Harris after Mr. Biden withdrew from the campaign in July.