Marianne Deborah Williamson (born July 8, 1952) is an American author, speaker, and politician. She began her professional career as spiritual leader of the Church of Today, a Unity Church in Warren, Michigan. Williamson has written several self-help books, including A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles in 1992, which became a New York Times Best Seller. She was launched into prominence by Oprah Winfrey, being a frequent guest on her daytime talk show and becoming known as her "spiritual advisor".Williamson ran unsuccessfully as an independent for California's 33rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives in 2014, finishing fourth with 13.2% of the vote. She ran for the Democratic nomination for president in 2020, eventually dropping out and endorsing Bernie Sanders. She runs in the 2024 Democratic Party presidential primaries, challenging incumbent President Joe Biden. Williamson's presidential platform calls for an end to the war on drugs, a federal minimum wage increase, reparations for racial injustice, addressing climate change, and creating a U.S. Department of Peace. On February 7, 2024, she announced she had suspended her campaign after receiving 2.9% of the vote in the Nevada Democratic primary, but on February 28, 2024, Williamson re-entered the presidential race after placing third in the Michigan Democratic primary, receiving 3% of the vote.Williamson has been actively involved with charity work, founding such organizations as Center for Living in 1987, Project Angel Food in 1989, and the Peace Alliance in 1998. She sits on the board for RESULTS, a nonprofit group which is dedicated to finding long-term solutions to poverty.