Best-selling author and spiritual guru Marianne Williamson has ended her 2020 presidential campaign.
Williamson made the announcement Friday on her campaign website.
"I ran for president to help forge another direction for our country," Williamson said in a post on the website. "I wanted to discuss things I felt needed to be discussed that otherwise were not. I feel that we have done that.
"I stayed in the race to take advantage of every possible effort to share our message. With caucuses and primaries now about to begin, however, we will not be able to garner enough votes in the election to elevate our conversation any more than it is now. The primaries might be tightly contested among the top contenders, and I don’t want to get in the way of a progressive candidate winning any of them. As of today, therefore, I’m suspending my campaign."
The author recently laid off her entire 2020 campaign staff, raising questions about how long she would remain in the race.
A former campaign aide told The Associated Press that Williamson laid off her entire campaign staff Dec. 31 because of financial concerns.
