Former presidential candidate Marianne Williamson endorsed Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Democratic challenger.
Williamson, who acknowledged that she is a lifelong Democrat, expressed concern that the party and its leadership are too focused on corporations rather than people. She noted that she respects Pelosi but said she needs to be replaced by someone further to the Left.
“I am a lifelong Democrat who has become very, very concerned with the corporatist direction of the party in too many cases. And I admit my own experience in the presidential campaign showed me how the control of certain forces at the expense of progressive voices is a direction that is taking the Democratic Party away from the principles on which I was always raised to believe it stands,” she said.
“And so, in this election, I feel that we need to do everything possible to make a strong stand for those of us who have been Democrats, for those of us who are Democrats. We need to take a strong stand for the progressive vision that many of us feel is absolutely essential. Not only for the future our country but also for this next election,” she added. “As a consequence, I am now endorsing Shahid Buttar.”
Buttar, an attorney, will face Pelosi in the general election in November. He received 12.7% of the vote in the primary, while Pelosi received 72%. Williamson said that she hopes Buttar will win as a wake-up call to the party.
“The Nancy Pelosis of this world — and I say this with all due respect to Nancy Pelosi — have got to hear us, that we are serious. Have got to understand that, yes, we on the Left will challenge you,” she said.
Williamson credited Pelosi’s latest coronavirus relief package, the HEROES Act, as the final straw triggering her endorsement. She said the legislation should have included a $2,000 universal basic income.
