Marianne Williamson officially launched her 2024 bid to run again for the Democratic nomination for the presidency on Saturday, pushing for the party to turn the page from President Biden.
“I, as of today, am a candidate for the office of president of the United States,” she said.
Williamson, who Las ran as a Democratic presidential candidate in 2020, had previously confirmed last week in an interview with Medill News Service, which is run by Northwestern University, that she planned to run. She made the official announcement at a scheduled event at Union Station in Washington, D.C.
The self-help author is the first Democrat to launch an official challenge to President Biden, who has not formally announced his 2024 plans, but is expected to officially kick off his reelection campaign as soon as next month.
Williamson said in an interview with “Good Morning New Hampshire” recently that Democratic voters can balance praising Biden’s successes with wanting a new leader.
“You can appreciate what the president has done, defeating the Republicans in 2020, and still feel that it is time to move on,” she said.
But she is likely a long-shot candidate to win the Democratic nomination, just as she was in 2020.
She struggled to raise money in 2020 and needed to lay off her campaign staff and suspend her campaign before the first contest of the Democratic nominating process, the Iowa caucus. She said at the time that she “didn’t want to get in the way” of a progressive candidate winning and endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who ultimately came in second to Biden for the nomination.
Political strategists said after Williamson confirmed she planned to run that they did not make much of her candidacy, with one saying that he expects the White House and Democratic National Committee “will completely ignore” her run.
But many voters in polls have indicated they would prefer someone other than Biden to be the Democratic nominee, with some citing his age as a concern. Biden is already the oldest president that the United States has had at 80 years old. He would be 82 upon starting a second term, if he is reelected, and 86 at its conclusion.
Still, top Democratic leaders have signaled they are standing behind Biden, and some of his most prominent potential challengers do not appear likely to run against him.
Williamson expressed some optimism about her chances in an online post last weekend, saying that many political spectators also did not expect former President Trump to win the election in 2016.
“Since the election of 2016 it’s odd for anyone to think they can know who can win the presidency,” Williamson wrote. “And I’m not putting myself through this again just to add to the conversation. I’m running for president to help bring an aberrational chapter of our history to a close, and to help bring forth a new beginning.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.