Ellie Park, Photo Editor

Marianne Williamson has never held elected office. Now the college dropout turned spiritual leader is running for president for the second time. 

America, she told dozens of supporters in New Haven, needs a “birth doula and a death doula.”

Williamson announced the suspension of her campaign on Feb. 7 after receiving small fractions of the vote in early primary states and racking up hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt in 2023 alone. On Feb. 28, she reversed course and resumed her campaign. In recent weeks, she has presented herself as a pro-ceasefire option for Democratic primary voters. She has urged Connecticut voters to reject Biden and the political establishment by voting for her in Tuesday’s primary.

Williamson supporters packed the basement of the Wilson Branch of the New Haven Free Public Library on Thursday to show their support for Williamson, who arrived around 30 minutes late and delivered a more than hour-long stump speech.

Williamson touched on everything from the Declaration of Independence to toxic pollutants and drug rehabilitation. Williamson’s team and her supporters were ejected from the library after it closed at 6 p.m. while she was still in the middle of answering questions. 

Cindy Nye, a supporter from Farmington, cited Williamson’s support for progressive causes like universal health care and a living wage. She expressed frustration with the Biden campaign’s refusal to engage with Williamson and the administration’s willingness to compromise on these issues.

The News was not immediately able to reach the Biden campaign for comment.

“She’s speaking to what the average American voter wants and needs,” Nye said.

Nye acknowledged that it would be an uphill battle for Williamson to win the Connecticut primary, but expressed her hope that a few Williamson delegates at the Democratic National Convention could influence the administration. So far, Williamson has received no delegates nationwide.

Nye also highlighted Williamson’s proposal for a “Department of Peace” as a key piece of her foreign policy platform. The event, billed as a voice of support for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, featured speculation about what such a department could look like. Nye also cited Williamson’s support for a two-state solution, an end to what she described as the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza and the dismantling of “apartheid.”

“Marianne’s been calling for a ceasefire from the very beginning,” Nye told the News.

After Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, during which Hamas killed 1,200 people and took over 250 people as hostages, Israel unleashed a full military offensive on Gaza. To date, Israel has killed over 32,000 people in Gaza.

Connecticut primary voters will have an “uncommitted” option, a choice used in other states to protest Biden’s handling of the war. Williamson called for voters to vote for her as a protest instead.

Deborah, a Connecticut resident from outside of New Haven, who requested that the News not share her last name, also voiced support for Williamson, citing similar progressive causes and pacifist foreign policy positions. Deborah expressed little concern over Williamson’s lack of political experience.

“It seems to me that there are other people who implement things,” she told the News, “but she is the one who is a leader.”

Williamson is a spiritual leader who once appeared regularly alongside Oprah Winfrey. A best-selling author of self-help books, Williamson has also founded a number of nonprofits aimed at everything from food for the sick and dying to global peace. 

Deborah questioned the prevailing view that Williamson’s candidacy will have little impact on the presidential race. She compared Williamson to Gandhi and activists who fought for women’s suffrage, civil rights and the abolition of slavery. Asked whom she would vote for now that Biden has clinched the nomination, she insisted that she would not vote for him. 

“Absolutely not,” she said. “I will still write in Marianne.”

Nye declined to say whether she would vote for Biden or Trump in the general election, hinting at the possibility of a third-party candidate.

“I don’t think those are going to be our only two options,” she said.

Speaking with reporters outside the library after the event, Williamson refused to say whether she would endorse Biden in the general election. She also refused to rule out a third-party run.

“​​I will not do anything that I believe increases the chances of Donald Trump becoming president,” she told reporters.

Williamson expressed frustration throughout the event about the primary process, accusing the Democratic Party and corporate interests of trying to “invisibalize” her. She echoed these sentiments outside the event.

“The situation is rigged so that only those with access to huge amounts of wealth can get anywhere near the pinnacles of power,” she said.

She also echoed past calls for Biden to decline to run for reelection and instead create space for a new, younger generation of leaders. Williamson is 71.

Williamson praised Biden’s marriage and his desire to help people, but insisted that he is a “corporatist Democrat.”

State Rep. Keith Denning, a Democrat representing New Canaan and Wilton, seemed to endorse Williamson when she called on him for a question after her speech. Asked afterward, Denning said that state representatives do not endorse presidential candidates. He would, however, divulge that he had already voted early for Williamson.

In his question, Denning credited Williamson with his decision to run for office. He has been an avid follower of her “A Course in Miracles” and once called into a talk show on which she was featured, he later told the News. She taught him to always ask for divine inspiration and guidance when making such decisions, he said. 

Denning praised Williamson for visiting the state — she is the only presidential candidate to host a public event in the state ahead of Tuesday’s primary — and expressed his hope that her support could influence Biden’s campaign.

“I want him to know that there’s people out there like us who want to affect change,” Denning told the News.

Denning said that he would vote for Biden in the general election, but expressed frustration with the Democratic Party establishment at the state capitol.

Denning is not seeking reelection to the State House.