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Underdog Democratic presidential nominee Marianne WIlliamson has garnered an enthusiastic following on social media, something she believes can translate into real votes as she tries to unseat President Biden in the party’s primary.
“American politics is very unpredictable,” Williamson told Fox News Digital. “That’s part of what makes it exciting and what makes it a little challenging at times. When you run, you run to win. You run to get your ideas in front of voters.”
WIlliamson, making her second bid for the presidency, is seen by most as a long shot to secure the Democratic nomination. In the New York bestselling author’s first bid for the presidency in 2020, she took part in two Democratic debates and sparked some interest from voters who may not have known who she was before. But Williamson ended up not getting the traction she needed and dropped out of the race for Iowa’s first nomination game.
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Self-help author Marianne Williamson addresses the crowd as she launches her 2024 presidential campaign in Washington, March 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Her 2024 bid may face an even bigger test in an attempt to prevent a sitting president from regaining his party’s nomination, a feat not accomplished since 1884, long before voters were tasked with choosing the nominee.
But there are signs Williamson may be more than just a candidate in the 2024 race, with the latest Fox News poll data showing she has the support of 9% of Democratic primary voters. She also uses social media effectively and has gathered an enthusiastic following on platforms such as TikTok.
According to a report from the Intercept in April, Williamson had already racked up more than 11 million views on videos posted to TikTok, despite having only published 65 posts. Accounts dedicated to posting every media appearance and speech have also proved popular, significantly increasing her profile among young voters.
When asked about her social media success, Williamson believes she has tapped into the feelings of many young Americans.
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“I think young people understand the message I’m giving,” Williamson told Fox News Digital. “I don’t understand why they should live their lives based on bad economic ideas left over from the 20th century.”
Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson sits down for an interview with Fox News Digital. (Fox news)
WIlliamson boasts a platform that places her firmly in the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, supporting universal health care under a “Medicare-for-all” type model, an aggressive approach to combating climate change, and the forgiveness of all public and private student loan.
Such a message will, according to Williamson, particularly appeal to the youth of the country.
“They look at young people in other countries, really any other advanced democracy, and they say…. ‘Why don’t we have universal health care? Why don’t we have tuition and technical schools?’ And they’re right to ask that question and I think they appreciate me asking it.”
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When it comes to translating social media success into actual votes, Williamson places her hope in the quality of her message.
“What I’m counting on is that… my conviction about these ideas and the quality of the ideas is enough. The sheer importance of the message and the truth of the message,” she said. “That’s what you hope for, you know, ideas go viral in the United States.”
But Williamson acknowledges that the road to turmoil won’t be an easy one, something she says is due to the media’s coverage of elections.
“It’s a pity, isn’t it?” Williamson said. “We have a political-media-industrial complex and a lot of mainstream media, both the left and the right, are clearly making their decisions about which candidates to highlight and which candidates to single out.”
Marianne Williamson speaks onstage at Guerrilla Tactics & Asymmetric Political Activism during the 2022 SXSW Conference and Festivals at Hilton Austin. (Mike Jordan/Getty Images for SXSW)
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Williamson also took aim at the major political parties themselves, saying they “exercise a lot of power”, while she thinks it is “the voters who should be making these decisions”.
“My claim is simply that — and this is also the claim of eight out of 10 likely Democratic voters — that the Democratic voters should decide … that’s part of the democratic process,” Williamson said. “I think it’s very important … especially at a time like this in America, that all voters across the political spectrum hear their options.”
Continuing to spread her message despite the obstacles will be key for the future, Williamson said.
“You just do what you can to give your word and appear on all independent media outlets,” she said. “Create your own media on social media. You take off. You go to places, you go to cities, you talk to people, and that’s really the beauty of American democracy. It’s people talking to people.”
Michael Lee is a writer at Fox News. Follow him on Twitter @UAMichaelLee
