Who are the declared candidates running for president in 2024?
3. Marianne Williamson
Update: Marianne Williamson suspended her campaign on Feb. 7.
Marianne Williamson, who unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for president in the 2020 election, is seeking to become the party’s standard bearer for the second time. While she suspended her campaign on Feb. 7, she unsuspended her campaign three weeks later and remains in the race despite the fact that Biden has effectively clinched the Democratic nomination.
Williamson, described on her campaign website as a “bestselling author, political activist and spiritual thought leader,” has written more than a dozen books and founded Project Angel Food, which “has delivered more than 14 million meals to ill and dying homebound patients since 1989.”
Williamson’s campaign website identifies the candidate as an unabashed progressive on the issue of “reproductive justice.” Her priorities on the issue of abortion closely mirror those of Biden and the Democratic Party and include codifying the now-overturned Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide into federal law as well as the expansion of funding to Planned Parenthood and other abortion clinics.
Additionally, Williamson has vowed to “refuse Title X funding for ‘crisis pregnancy centers’” that do not perform abortions. Also known as pro-life pregnancy centers, these facilities have found themselves targeted by pro-abortion activists over the past two years following the publication of the leaked draft decision indicating that the Supreme Court was poised to overturn Roe.
Williamson has also made “LGBTQIA+ rights” a top issue of her campaign. The candidate has signaled an intention to “address the laws that in some states enable and embolden businesses and service providers to refuse to serve LGBTQIA+ citizens, by expanding spaces protected from discrimination to include public accommodations like shops and restaurants.” Williamson has also expressed a desire to “support repealing any legislation or policy that purports to ‘protect’ religious liberty at the expense of others.”
States that have taken the opposite approach on the issue have forced Christian business owners with deeply held beliefs that marriage is a union between a man and woman and that there are only two sexes into court. The most notable example of this phenomenon is baker Jack Phillips, a Colorado resident who has repeatedly faced litigation due to his refusal to make cakes celebrating same-sex weddings and transgenderism.
According to The Green Papers, Williamson has not secured any delegates in the Democratic primary race and has captured 2.92% of the popular vote as of May 10.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: [email protected]
