During her congressional bid, Marianne Williamson decried what she called America’s “permanent war machine,” the mass incarceration of people of color, and economic inequality. | Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP 2020 Oprah pal and spirituality guru plans 2020 run 
 
 Add one more name to the growing list of Democrats preparing to run for president in 2020: Marianne Williamson — pal of Oprah, spirituality guru and fixture of Hollywood's New Age community. 
 
 Williamson, a best-selling author of a dozen books on spirituality including “A Return to Love,” announced on Friday that she's forming a presidential exploratory committee and traveling to Iowa, her fifth trip to the state this year. 
 
 Story Continued Below 
 
 “We had a miracle in this country in 1776 and we need another one,” the Williamson said in a video announcement. “It’s going to be a co-creative effort, an effort of love and a gift of love, to our country and hopefully to our world.” She added that America needs to get “back to an ethical center that is the true exceptionalism of the American ideal.” 
 
 While the 66-year-old Williamson is not a familiar name inside the Beltway, it is not her first time dabbling in national politics. In 2014, she raised $2 million in bid to succeed retiring Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman in California, running as an independent. She earned endorsements from high-profile Democrats like former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm and former Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich. Williamson came in fourth out of sixteen candidates with 13 percent of the vote with Rep. Ted Lieu eventually prevailing. 
 
 “She has not talked to me. I don’t know anything about it,” Granholm said in a text message when asked about Williamson’s presidential ambitions. 
 
 COUNTDOWN TO 2020 The race for 2020 starts now. Stay in the know. Follow our presidential election coverage. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. 
 
 A cryptic job listing had been circling around in political circles this week for a social media director to join a presidential bid that was “part campaign, part startup, part spiritual movement” on behalf of a “woman, non-politician, high-profile writer and spiritual personality.” 
 
 Multiple sources said they understood the posting to be for Williamson but spokespeople for the potential presidential candidate did not return requests for comment. 
 
 In 2014, Williamson also had support from celebrities like Eva Longoria, Nicole Richie and Jane Lynch. Alanis Morrissette even composed a campaign jingle for the effort. "We're going down, down, down. We're going down unless we move to new ground, unless we start a revolution, awaken from this frozen, start the mending of our union today," went the song. 
 
 During her congressional bid, Williamson decried what she called America’s “permanent war machine,” the mass incarceration of people of color, and economic inequality. After she lost, Williamson told Oprah in an interview that she learned a lot from the experience. 
 
 “I kept waiting for people to tell me what to do and [I] tried to hire people who would tell me what to do,” she said. “It taught me what I should have already known: to only listen to myself.” 
 
 ||||| The interactive transcript could not be loaded. 
 
 Rating is available when the video has been rented. 
 
 This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. ||||| CLOSE Michael Avenatti, who is representing Stormy Daniels in her case against President Donald Trump, was arrested on domestic violence charges in Los Angeles. USA TODAY 
 
 Michael Avenatti speaks to the media outside the Los Angeles Police Department Pacific Division after being released from police custody following his arrest on a felony domestic violence charge. (Photo: Michael Owen Baker, AP) 
 
 WASHINGTON - Attorney Michael Avenatti says despite his run-in with the law Wednesday evening over an alleged domestic violence incident, he is still debating a bid for the White House. 
 
 "I'm still considering it," Avenatti told USA TODAY in a text message. 
 
 For months, Avenatti has been flirting with a 2020 presidential bid and in recent weeks has started building out a possible campaign and strategy if he does run. He did not answer questions about the incident but said his "first priority right now is clearing my name." 
 
 "I will not be intimidated," Avenatti said in a text message. "The measure of a person is how they get up when they are knocked down." 
 
 But the hurdles in his way are adding up. On Wednesday, Avenatti, a vocal critic of President Donald Trump who rose to prominence as the attorney for porn star Stormy Daniels, was arrested in Los Angeles on suspicion of domestic violence. 
 
 Hours after being taken into custody, Avenatti posted $50,000 bail and strongly denied wrongdoing as he left the Los Angeles Police Department and tweeted on Thursday that he hasn't been charged with anything related to the accusation. 
 
 More: Michael Avenatti's ex-wives come to his defense after domestic violence arrest in LA 
 
 More: Michael Avenatti arrested in Los Angeles, denies domestic violence accusations 
 
 "I have never struck a woman. I will never strike a woman," Avenatti told reporters, adding that he is and would continue to be an "advocate" for women's rights. 
 
 Los Angeles Police have not identified the alleged victim but said the person had visible injuries. 
 
 Both of Avenatti's former wives came to his defense, issuing statements saying was always a kind and loving father and husband. 
 
 Avenatti has denied that he was charged with a crime, despite a Los Angeles Police statement to the contrary. 
 
 In a tweet, Avenatti blamed right-wing internet provocateur Jacob Wohl, who was accused of instigating a plot to discredit special counsel Robert Mueller with bogus charges of sexual harassment. 
 
 "First Mueller and now me. When we are fully exonerated I am coming for you Jacob Wohl," Avenatti wrote. 
 
 Avenatti did not immediately provide answer additional text messages from USA TODAY about the allegations and whether he believed this incident could pose an issue to his possible presidential bid. 
 
 Even before the arrest, Avenatti would have faced an interesting road to the Democratic primary if he chose to throw his hat in the ring for president. 
 
 Along with not holding public office before, Avenatti was criticized for his role in the Supreme Court hearings on Brett Kavanaugh. 
 
 Some critics, both Republicans and Democrats, blamed Avenatti for Kavanaugh's successful confirmation as a Supreme Court Justice. Critics said the decades-old allegations about a gang rape by his client Julie Swetnick cast doubt on the other allegations of sexual assault. 
 
 But, Avenatti's name recognition, his high-profile legal fights with Trump and his fight-fire-with-fire attitude could rally Democratic support. 
 
 Ahead of the midterm elections, Avenatti toured the nation speaking at Democratic fundraising events, some of which sold out. 
 
 In recent weeks he's gotten help from a group of veteran Democratic advisers and launched a political action committee, Politico noted in October. The group of advisers includes those who've worked on campaigns for Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. 
 
 Contributing: Steve Kiggins, Gregory Korte 
 
 Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/11/15/michael-avenatti-still-considering-run-president-after-domestic-violence-arrest/2019880002/
– Oprah says she's not interested in running for president in 2020, but one of her friends definitely is. Marianne Williamson, described by Politico as a "spirituality guru and fixture of Hollywood's New Age community," announced Friday that she's forming an exploratory committee. "We need to get our country back on track, our government back on track, back to an ethical center that is the true exceptionalism of the American ideal," says the 66-year-old in her launch video. Williamson has dabbled in politics before, with an unsuccessful run for Congress in 2014 as an independent. She picked up some high-profile endorsements, including that of Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm. Another longshot candidate for Democrats? Michael Avenatti. The attorney for Stormy Daniels says he's still considering a run despite this week's domestic violence charges, which he insists are bogus. "I will not be intimidated," Avenatti tells USA Today. "The measure of a person is how they get up when they are knocked down." (Oprah played a role in Georgia's gubernatorial race.)