Ms. Williamson, 72, most likely faces long odds in her bid for party chair. A number of party officials, including the former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley, are jostling for the job. The current chair, Jaime Harrison, is not seeking re-election. Ms. Williamson is the first woman to formally enter the race.

Williamson joins a steadily growing field in the race to replace outgoing DNC chair Jamie Harrison that includes former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley, Wisconsin Democratic Party chair Ben Wikler, Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party chair Ken Martin, and New York State Senator James Skoufis . She’s the first woman to join the race.

The race to lead the Democratic Party in the wake of Kamala Harris’s election defeat expanded on Thursday as author and two-time candidate Marianne Williamson announced that she was seeking the role.