Marianne Williamson. Photo: Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
Author Marianne Williamson's presidential campaign announced on Friday that she has dropped out of the 2020 race.
The big picture: Williamson, a Democrat, was considered an outlier in a field mostly comprised of longtime politicians. She built her career as a spiritual guru and never held public office. Despite penning 13 books, four of which were New York Times bestsellers, she came into the race with little political name recognition compared to her competitors.
- Williamson did manage to achieve a few breakout moments, including during the second debate when she received raucous applause for her comments on reparations and the water crisis in Flint, Michigan.
- She did not qualify for the October, November or December debates, and was polling last nationally among Democratic candidates still in the race. She had not qualified for the January debate, with the cutoff also on Friday.
- Williamson laid off her campaign staff on Jan. 2.
What she's saying:
" I ran for president to help forge another direction for our country ... As of today ... I'm suspending my campaign."— Marianne Williamson
Go deeper: 2020 presidential election: Track which candidates are running