The Wild Reed: Campaigning for Marianne Williamson in New Hampshire

My friend Kate and I are currently in New Hampshire, campaigning for Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson (left) in the Granite State’s “First in the Nation” presidential primary.

It’s day four of five for us, and it started early – really early – as today is the actual day of the New Hampshire primary.

As volunteers with Marianne’s campaign, Kate and I had signed-up to do electioneering at all five polling places in Salem, the New Hampshire town where we’re staying. And so starting at 6:45 a.m., we stood outside our first polling site holding signs that read, “Marianne Williamson for President 2024.”

Now, unless a voter comes up to us and initiates a conversation, we can’t by law engage with them, other than by saying “Hello” or something like, “Thank you for voting today.” Our primary purpose (no pun intended) was to remind people that Marianne is on the ballot and thus is someone for whom they can vote.

Above: Of course, we weren’t the only people holding signs outside polling places today. There were folks electioneering for the major candidates of both parties – Donald Trump and Nikki Haley on the Republican side; and, along with Marianne, Dean Phillips on the Democratic side.

There were also folks in support of President Joe Biden (a Democrat), even though he is not on the ballot. These folks were holding signs encouraging Democratic and Independent voters to be part of a “write-in campaign” for Biden. (For a lively discussion by Briahna Joy Gray and Robby Soave on the Biden write-in campaign, and how it might backfire and embarrass the president, click here.)

While electioneering, Kate and I were in regular contact with Marianne's campaign headquarters as it was possible that Marianne herself might stop by certain polling sites throughout the day. As it turned out, she was kept busy for much of the day doing interviews with various media outlets, including a great 15-minute interview with the progressive news show Democracy Now!

Above: Winning over a Trumpster! . . . The canine variety at least.

But seriously, throughout the day Kate and I had some very meaningful conversations with Trump supporters. Most of them politely told us that they "like a lot of what Marianne says" but that they couldn't bring themselves to vote for a Democrat.

Overwhelmingly, Joe Biden was the number one target of Trump supporters with whom we spoke. Indeed, their disdain for Biden bordered on the pathological. And of course, everything of which they accuse Biden – his age, cognitive state, corruption – can just as readily be applied to Trump. And in the case of corruption, provenly so. That they could no see this was both perplexing and disturbing, and reconfirmed for me the cultishness of Trumpism.

Above: Standing with two Trump supporters at the last polling place Kate and I electioneered today.

Left: Kate with Greg, a Biden supporter.

Greg shared with me that he was not happy that Biden was running; that ultimately a progressive like Marianne Williamson should lead both the Democratic party and the country. Yet with Trump the likely Republican nominee, Greg felt that it was only Biden who could defeat him. This was a refrain I heard from a number of Biden supporters, but it’s not one supported by the current polling data which has Biden either neck-and-neck with Trump or losing to him.

Following are excerpts from Isabella Murray’s ABC News report on the Democratic challengers to Biden. Entitled, “Biden Has Two Primary Challengers in New Hampshire: How Dean Phillips and Marianne Williamson Are Campaigning,” this article was published late this afternoon.

In the final days of campaigning for Republicans ahead of their closely watched presidential primary in New Hampshire on Tuesday, two Democratic candidates have been trying to make their own kind of splash – similarly traversing the state in a race where their leading opponent is notably absent.

Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips and author and speaker Marianne Williamson are challenging incumbent President Joe Biden for the 2024 Democratic nomination.

They each face a steep challenge, as Democrats at nearly every level of the party – from the national committee to state leaders – have rallied behind Biden while polling shows neither Phillips or Williamson has gotten much momentum with voters.

That hasn’t deterred them, though, even as a protracted dispute over scheduling has technically rendered New Hampshire’s primary results irrelevant for actually winning the presidential nomination.

Biden also declined to campaign in the state or be listed on the primary ballot because of the calendar fight between the state and the DNC – but Phillips and Williamson have been trying to use New Hampshire as a launching pad for their own candidacies.

. . . Williamson, who entered the race in March 2023, has held over 200 events across over 300 towns in the state. She’s been in New Hampshire for 17 straight days, participating in over 85 events just this month.

She told ABC News' Jonathan Karl last year that “I don’t see myself as running against Joe Biden. I see this campaign as challenging a system.”

Williamson has expressed optimism in the message she’s been able to relay to New Hampshire voters – an “economy of hope and opportunity” and an overhaul of health care and environmental wellness, among other issues, as her campaign website states.

“I feel when I speak to audiences, I feel heard and I feel this enthusiasm for our message. Getting out to enough people is hard. I don’t have the multimillion-dollar ad campaigns. We don’t have those kinds of resources,” she said in an interview with ABC News.

“New Hampshire will decide,” she continued. “If my numbers are high enough and I have the money, I’ll be going on to the next state. If not, I will hold my head high, proud of the messages that we gave and what this campaign stood for.”

. . . Williamson, in her final pitch to voters on the night ahead of primary day, said “we need fundamental economic reform and that’s really where America is today. Joe Biden . . . really wants to help people. He wants to help people survive what is inherently an unjust economic system. I want to end the injustice. It’s not enough to just help people.”

Melinda LaBarge, a Williamson voter from Keene, has hinged her support for the candidate upon that economic message, especially when compared to Biden’s approach, she said.

“She’s right when she says the system as it is is not going to disrupt itself. And the economic inequality in our country that she’s speaking about, I believe is probably our biggest issue that I do not feel President Biden or President Trump are addressing,” LaBarge said at a Williamson event in Hooksett on Monday.

Despite the picture painted by the polls, [both Phillips and Williamson] are insistent that there’s a path for them to break through in the largely independent state.

“I have a number, I have a general number,” Williamson said of the expectations she has for her performance on primary night, nodding when asked by ABC News if she was looking for a finish in the double-digit range.

“But you know, it’s interesting – when I’ve talked to people over the last few days, so many people haven’t even decided who they’re voting for yet,” Williamson said, though she noted that she wasn’t distinctly targeting undecided voters over Democrats. (Independent voters can cast ballots in either the Republican or Democratic primary.)

David Fine of Portsmouth is a volunteer for Williamson and has been working for the campaign since July. He, too, said that one of the largest barriers to her success is name identification, despite her previous presidential run.

“Name recognition for Marianne is weak, was weak and it’s still pretty weak. But I think it’s going to change in a few days . . . we got so many undecided people, this thing here could turn,” he said at one of Williamson’s events in Portsmouth.

– Isabella Murray
Excerpted from "Biden Has Two Primary Challengers in New Hampshire:
How Dean Phillips and Marianne Williamson Are Campaigning
ABC News
January 23, 2024

Above: Marianne Williamson at her campaign headquarters in Manchester, New Hampshire – Tuesday evening, January 23, 2024.

When Kate and I arrived at the campaign office for the scheduled election results watch party, we immediately sensed the heaviness in the room.

The mood was somber and some of those present were crying. We soon ascertained that results were coming in, and it was clear that Marianne’s campaign was not getting the results that she – or any of us – was hoping for.

What would this mean for the future of the campaign? No one seemed to know.

At one point I found myself alone with Marianne. I told her what a great job I thought she’d done with the Democracy Now! interview earlier in the day. I also shared that I wished that they and other media outlets had started covering her campaign months ago.

“Yes,” she said sadly, looking beyond me and the room, “where were they?”

I gently brought her back to the moment by saying, “You know, one of my favorite prayers of yours is ‘A New Day,’ from Illuminata. I love how it speaks of the ‘beauty, light, and possibilities’ that each new day brings; how in the midst of uncertainty and disappointment, a new day offers us the ‘chance to begin again, free from the limitations of yesterday.’”

She looked at me intently, her eyes conveying a dawning awareness of what it was I was trying to convey.

“Yes,” she said with a smile, “I think I need to read that one again.”

In time, Marianne and members of her core team (including Rep. Jonah Wheeler) convened an impromptu strategy meeting (above), one which they soon expanded so as to include all of us in the room – about 25 people in total.

Marianne openned this larger gathering with a prayer-from-the-heart. She then proceeded to invite comments, questions and perspectives from all of us who were sharing with her what felt like a sacred space. Powerful statements of love, respect and gratitude were shared, and Marianne listened and responded with candor, grace, and humility. It was a profound and moving experience, and one that I will always remember.

In time, Marianne brought our discussion to a close. Then, rising from her seat, she suggested we all go and kick-back at a nearby bar. Refreshments, she said with a smile, would be on her.

And so that’s what we did.

NEXT:
“I Have Decided to Continue”

Related Off-site Links:
Biden’s Democratic Challengers Seek to Beat Expectations in New Hampshire – Jared Gans (The Hill, January 23, 2024).
Spiritual Author and Longtime Californian Marianne Williamson Tests Whether She Can Win Votes in New Hampshire – Faith E. Pinho and Seema Mehta (Los Angeles Times, January 23, 2024).
Williamson Says She Has No Plans to Give Up Race as New Hampshire Voters Head to Polls – Kirk Enstrom (WMUR-9 News, January 23, 2024).
Marianne Williamson Says She’s a “Homeopathic Remedy” in the 2024 Presidential Election – Ethan Cotler (Boston Public Radio, January 22, 2024).

UPDATES: Williamson Says She Discussed With Volunteers Whether to End Presidential Campaign – Filip Timotija (The Hill, January 26, 2024).
Still Running: Marianne Williamson Denies Rumors She Is Dropping Out of 2024 Race – Misty Severi (Washington Examiner, January 26, 2024).
Williamson Supporter Registers Super PAC to Boost Biden Challenge – Filip Timotija (The Hill, January 30, 2024).

See also: Marianne 2024 Official Site | About | Issues | News | Events | Donate

The Wild Reed

Tuesday, January 23, 2024

Campaigning for Marianne Williamson in New Hampshire – Day 4

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