Just hours after hiring her 3rd campaign manager since March, Marianne Williamson lost six more staffers, including her three-person South Carolina team, who all quit. The departures — which included some firings as well as the resignations — followed a meeting about broadening the Democratic presidential candidate's ballot access beyond New Hampshire and South Carolina. The seemingly appropriate subject matter left Williamson feeling "ambushed" by her own team, according to Politico.
"During that meeting, there was just a vibe that she felt attacked, and an insinuation at the end of that call that some staff were not going to make it to the end of the week," one person told Politico. "She didn't listen to anything that was said. … Clearly, because the people who expressed frustration were fired."
"If you're just thinking about New Hampshire and South Carolina, then this is a grift," the person said about Williamson, who happens to (ahem) have a new book coming out by the end of summer.
From Politico:
Williamson's campaign faces a number of hurdles beyond ballot access. The Democratic National Committee has decided not to host debates with President Joe Biden's primary challengers. In addition, there has been consistent staff turnover, including several campaign managers, coupled with money worries as the campaign lags behind her fellow Democratic primary opponents. Two of the four people told POLITICO that Williamson is likely to report less than $1 million in donations on her next quarterly financial report. …
Williamson registered significant early support, polling at about 10 percent in surveys. But there haven't been many gains since her launch. The team is now operating with a skeletal staff of about 12 people as Williamson increases her campaign events.
Despite the firings, there has been at least one new hire: an events coordinator, who formerly worked on marketing for Williamson's business office, according to two of the four people. Williamson, incidentally, has a new book coming out at the end of the summer.
