(NewsNation) —Author and spiritual teacher Marianne Williamson is one of three Democratic candidates challenging current President Joe Biden. Here's what we know about Williamson and her race to secure the Democratic nomination.
Williamson, a 71-year-old Texas native, also ran for the presidency in 2020. The latest data from FiveThirtyEight shows Williamson polling at 6.1% compared to fellow Democratic candidate U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota, who is polling at 2.9%. Biden remains the race’s front-runner.
A former spiritual adviser to Oprah Winfrey, Williamson’s campaign site focuses heavily on her concerns about the nation’s “chronic economic anxiety” and human suffering that she considers unnecessary. Her goal of “disrupt(ing) the corruption that has led to such a dangerous place for both people and planet” is a driving factor behind her campaign.
Her political career dates back to 2014, when she ran an unsuccessful independent congressional campaign in California. At the time, she was best known for wanting to create a Department of Peace and arguing the federal government should pay large financial reparations to Black Americans as atonement for centuries of slavery and discrimination.
Her current policy stances focus on what she calls “root cause solutions” to problems facing Americans. Those proposed solutions include preventative health care, mental health support, education focusing on social and emotional learning, “healing-focused justice systems” and international peacebuilding. Williamson is also an advocate of universal health care and free college tuition.
Before becoming the author of 15 books and four No. 1 New York Times bestsellers, Williamson studied theater and philosophy for two years at Pomona College in Claremont, California. She dropped out in 1973, ABC News reports.
Williamson would go on to become the founder of Project Angel Food, a nonprofit she created in 1989 to help people who have HIV/AIDS. The organization has delivered over 16 million meals to sick and dying homebound patients.
She also co-founded The Peace Alliance, a civic action group of organizers who use education and legislative advocacy to push for policy decisions that support domestic and international peace.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.