Marianne Williamson enters the race for DNC chair: We need to ‘create the energy’ to counter Trump

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The race to lead the Democratic Party in the wake of Kamala Harris’s election defeat expanded on Thursday as author and two-time candidate Marianne Williamson announced that she was seeking the role. That was evident in 2024 when, despite the Democratic primary process being sidelined by the party in favor of propping up Joe Biden’s bid for re-election, Williamson garnered 3 percent of the vote in Michigan, where an “uncommitted” campaign urged voters angry about Biden’s response to the war in Gaza to register protest votes in the Democratic primary. Along with less prominent names, former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley — who ran unsuccessfully for president in 2016 — is winning some support for his bid, as is Wisconsin state party chair Ben Wikler, who wowed Daily Show host Jon Stewart with his prescription for a new party. Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party chair Ken Martin is a leading contender as well, buoyed by the Democrats’ successes in his state while other parts of the “blue wall” turned red.