Marianne Williamson lays off her entire presidential campaign staff
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Best-selling spiritual author and Democratic presidential primary candidate Marianne Williamson has laid off her entire campaign staff, both at her national headquarters and in the early voting states.
Now ex-campaign manager Patricia Ewing -- who confirmed the development to Fox News on Thursday -- said: “Marianne Williamson has run an extraordinary campaign. We are all proud to have worked for her.”
Still, Williamson said she wasn't exiting the race. “I am not suspending my candidacy, however; a campaign not having a huge war chest should not be what determines its fate,” she said in a statement Thursday night.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}MARIANNE WILLIAMSON LEADS MEDITATION SESSION ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL
Former Rep. Paul Hodes of New Hampshire, who served as a top adviser for Williamson and as her state director in the first primary state, told Fox News: “I wish Marianne well going forward.”
A source close to the campaign said the writing was on the wall and that “it wasn’t a big surprise.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Democratic presidential candidate and best-selling spiritual author Marianne Williamson files to place her name on the New Hampshire primary ballot, in Concord, NH on Nov. 4, 2019
At her height, Williamson had about 45 staffers nationwide. But that number has been dwindling for some time and she had just two staffers left in New Hampshire.
The longshot contender had struggled with fundraising and failed to qualify for the most recent Democratic presidential debates.
Williamson has been an unconventional candidate who preaches the politics of love. She has emphasized “six pillars for a season of moral repair,” including economic justice. She proposed creating a Department of Children and Youths and Department of Peace, and has pushed for reparations for the descendants of African-American slaves.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}THE LATEST FROM FOX NEWS ON THE 2020 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN
Williamson also led a meditation session on the campaign trail a couple of months ago. Williamson told Fox News in September that “politics should be where we express our collective wisdom and that is all that finding your heart is about."
"Politics has become too separate from too much of normal life and this is just normal life today,” she said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News' Mike Arroyo contributed to this report.