Marianne Williamson, Michigan's gift to the 2020 presidential race, just dropped out

Looks like the White House won't get a much-needed sage-burning cleanse that Marianne Williamson likely would have implemented on Day One as President of the United States.

The former Detroit-area new age-y church leader, self-help guru, and long-shot 2020 Democratic candidate for president announced on Friday that she was dropping out of the race.

"I stayed in the race to take advantage of every possible opportunity to share our message," Williamson said in a message on her website. "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."

"As of today, therefore, I’m suspending my campaign," she wrote. Williamson had been polling at less than 1 percent.

While her campaign could be at times be cringe-worthy, Williamson had some great, earnest moments on the debate stage, which she had not qualified for since July. Some of the more interesting ideas she brought to the debates were calling for up to $500 billion in reparations for slavery and establishing a Department of Peace.

At the July debate at Detroit's Fox Theatre, she gave Michigan a shout-out and called out racism, saying that the Flint water crisis would never happen in an affluent white community.

"I assure you, I lived in Grosse Pointe," she said. "What happened in Flint would not have happened in Grosse Pointe. This is part of the dark underbelly of American society. The racism, the bigotry, and the entire conversation that we're having here tonight — if you think any of this wonkiness is going to deal with this dark psychic force of the collectivized hatred that this president is bringing up in this country, then I'm afraid that the Democrats are going to see some very dark days."

Born in Houston, Williamson lived in metro Detroit from 1998 through 2006, serving as a minister at the nondenominational Church of Today in Warren, now Ferndale's Renaissance Unity Church. In 2001, she was the subject of a Metro Times cover story because of her teachings. At least six of her books have made the New York Times best-seller list.

She certainly cast a spell on America — Williamson became the most-Googled candidate immediately after the first day of the July debate.

Williamson's campaign wasn't all peace and love, however. She took heat for some comments regarded as anti-science and dangerous, including calling mandatory vaccines "Orwellian" (she later apologized) and calling clinical depression a Big Pharma "scam."

Still, it was hard to disagree with Williamson when she was on one. "Mr. President, if you’re listening, you have harnessed fear for political purposes, and only love can cast that out," she told President Donald Trump from a debate stage in June. "I am going to harness love for political purposes. And sir, love will win."

Let's hope love wins in 2020. In her message, Williamson said of whichever Democrat earns the nomination, that she "will be there with all my energy and in full support."

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