Marianne Williamson, a self-help author and former two-time Democratic presidential candidate, announced Thursday that she is running to become the next chair of the Democratic National Committee. DNC members will elect the party’s new chair and other officers at its winter meeting Feb. 1. There will also be a series of four forums to allow those running for DNC chair to speak with party members and lay out their vision for the Democratic Party.

Williamson, 72, said in a video announcing her candidacy: “I am announcing I’m running for DNC chair, because I feel that I can bring a level of expertise to the process of lifting up this possibility of victory over the next two and four years in a way that will not occur if we are only looking traditional means of politicking in order to make that happen.”  She added that she’s been talking to Democratic voters about what they’d like to see from their party: “I’ve traveled extensively throughout this country, and I’ve seen how much pain there is out there. I’ve been up close and personal with people who didn’t have health care, who couldn’t survive on just one job, who were so depressed about so many of the conditions in their lives that were, in fact, at least indirectly due to bad public policy, and too many of them didn’t feel like the Democratic Party had their back.”

Williamson is first female candidate to enter the race to succeed outgoing DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, joining  a wide field of candidates who previously announced their bids for chair, including: former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, Minnesota Democratic Party Chair Ken Martin, Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler, New York state Sen. James Skoufis and former Maryland Senate candidate Robert Houton.

Williamson said in her video: “We need to know what it was that made people feel that their wallets were more important than their pain. We need to understand what it is that has made people emotionally and psychologically disconnect from a sense that the Democratic Party was part of a great legacy in American history ..I want to help people connect with the political issues that are going on in their lives in a very real and personal way. And I want to help people understand that by connecting to the Democratic Party, they can truly make a difference.”

Additionally, in an open letter to DNC members, Williamson laid out her plan for the party and urged Democrats to sign a petition to allow her to participate in candidate forums that will be held in January:  “As chairwoman, I will work to reinvent the party from the inside out. For if we want a new president in four years, and a new Congress in two, then we must immediately get about the task of creating a new party.”

Williamson said under her leadership, the Democratic Party will be one that “listens more, and makes people feel that their thoughts and feelings are as important as their wallets, and advocates unequivocally for the working people of the United States … We won’t just fight; we will inspire. We will create a surge of patriotic fervor, and a connectedness of the American heart to the great historical legacy of this country. Our ultimate success will be creating in people’s minds a sense that in order to further that legacy, your smartest move is to vote for Democrats.”

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