Marianne Williamson suspends long-shot Democratic presidential campaign

By Kaanita Iyer, CNN

(CNN) — Author Marianne Williamson has announced she is suspending her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.

“I appreciate greatly all the incredible people who accompanied me on our political journey over the last ten months. While the level of our failure is obvious to all, a level of success is real nonetheless,” Williamson said in a lengthy statement emailed to supporters.

“Processing this experience will itself be an ongoing journey, and forgiveness will guide me as I move through it. I will not allow the mental torment of all the woulda shoulda couldas to tie me to the past, but rather I will keep my eye on the larger story. In ways I cannot yet see, none of this will have been in vain. There are hidden gifts that have only just begun to reveal themselves,” Williamson also wrote.

In a video accompanying the statement, she said in part: “We did what we could to shed some light in some very darkened times.”

Williamson’s announcement comes after President Joe Biden clinched his first official victory of the 2024 cycle in the South Carolina Democratic primary over the weekend, followed by Tuesday’s victory in Nevada. Even though the president wasn’t on the ballot in New Hampshire last month, Williamson was unable to secure a win. Instead, Biden symbolically won the primary on an unofficial write-in campaign.

Williamson launched her long-shot presidential bid in March 2023 — her second attempt after an unsuccessful run in 2020.

She touted her previous run on the campaign trail, telling supporters at her campaign launch that she was “not naive about the forces which have no intention of allowing anyone into this conversation who does not align with their predetermined agenda.”

“The status quo will not disrupt itself; that’s our job,” Williamson said at the time. “Let the people get in there. We’ll handle it from here.”

In 2020, Williamson failed to gain traction in a crowded primary field. But her debate stage appearances did garner attention, including when she claimed then-President Donald Trump had harnessed a “dark psychic force of collectivized hatred.”

With Williamson’s exit, Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips remains the lone Democratic challenger to Biden, who is already preparing for a general election match-up with Trump.

This story has been updated with additional details.

CNN’s Brian Rokus, Ethan Cohen, Shania Shelton, Kate Sullivan and Eric Bradner contributed to this report.

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