Marianne Williamson vows to stay in 2020 race despite firing her entire campaign staff

Democratic presidential candidate and self-help author Marianne Williamson promised Friday to stay the course in her long-shot campaign for the White House, despite laying off her entire campaign staff the day before.

What are the details?

On Thursday, a former Williamson aide confirmed to WMUR-TV that the 2020 candidate had to let go of all her staffers nationwide, causing speculation that the end of her campaign might be near.

But in a statement posted to her website that night, Williamson insisted she was still in the race, saying, "I am not suspending my candidacy, however; a campaign not having a huge war chest should not be what determines its fate."

Williamson, a spiritual guru with links to celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, is still barely in the race after failing to qualify for the Democratic primary debate stage since the summer. As of this writing, RealClear Politics puts her polling at dead last among candidates, even trailing behind Julian Castro, who suspended his campaign earlier in the week.

Ms. Williamson's persistence even caused the Washington Examiner's Madeline Fry to write a column asking, "Will Marianne Williamson ever drop out?"

In her website statement, Williamson argued, "The point of my candidacy has been to tell the heart's truth and that does not cost money. Forging a new path for campaigns is going to be necessary, if we're ever to forge a new path for our country."

"In the meantime," Williamson added, "it's amazing what you can do with volunteers."

Anything else?

Politico pointed out that Williamson has struggled in polling throughout her campaign, and "has also tried to push back on the perception that she's a 'crystal woo woo lady' and expressed frustration after her debate performances that she was not being taken more seriously in the presidential race."