Stephen Chernin/AP
Sen. Chuck Schumer (right) has endorsed former colleague Hillary Clinton (center) in the race for the White House in 2016.Clinton has not confirmed she would make a run to become the first female President.
The first call of 'Hillary for President' came Saturday from her old Senate colleague.
New York Sen. Chuck Schumer endorsed Hillary Clinton even before she announced her candidacy, insisting she was unquestionably the best person for the job.
'Run, Hillary, run,' Schumer declared at the Iowa Democratic Party's annual Jefferson Jackson Dinner. 'If you run, you'll win and we'll win.'
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The veteran Democrat declared that '2016 is Hillary's time, and our nation will be the better for it ... Hillary's experience is unrivaled and her vision is unparalleled.'
Schumer's ringing endorsement comes a full 26 months before the January 2016 caucus and primary votes in Iowa and New Hampshire - and before Clinton confirmed she would make a run to become the first female President.
Clinton, 66, has said she will make up her mind next year - although the political action committee Ready for Hillary is already raising money for a potential Clinton campaign.
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Vice President Biden, 70, is the other prominent Democrat most frequently mentioned as a presidential candidate.Fi
Reps for Biden and Clinton didn't respond to requests for comment on Saturday.
Schumer immediately became the most prominent of a growing group of Democrats backing the former First Lady, senator and secretary of state.
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'It's time for a woman to be President,' Schumer told the audience in Des Moines. 'That's why I am urging Hillary Clinton to run for President. And when she does, she will have my full and unwavering support.'
Schumer - who served as New York's senior senator after Clinton's 2000 victory - threw in a plug for President Obama before nominating his old colleague as the perfect groundbreaking successor to the nation's first black President.
'With a strong platform and with Hillary leading the charge, we will vanquish the Ted Cruz, Tea Party Republicans in 2016,' Schumer said.
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A source told the Daily News that Schumer didn't speak to Clinton ahead of time about his speech.
Clinton ran unsuccessfully against Obama for the 2008 nomination in a bruising campaign that came up short.
She spent eight years in the White House during her husband Bill's two terms as President.
A Clinton administration would 'create a generation of Democrats who will make sure the middle class gets what it needs, our country advances and the torch held by that beautiful Lady in New York's harbor burns more brightly than ever,' the senator added.
Schumer started his remarks by joking about his own aborted run for President: a failed run in junior high school. 'It was a good, clean campaign,' he joked. 'We met with the voters over chocolate milk and Tater Tots. ... I think we raised the level of discourse in the cafeteria.'
Clinton stepped down in February after one four-year stint as secretary of state. She traveled nearly 1 million miles to 112 countries during her time in office, with her final months on the job marred by the deaths of four Americans in the Benghazi terror attack.
When she left the federal job, Clinton told reporters that she was 'not inclined' to run - but declined to rule out a presidential bid.
dfriedman@nydailynews.com
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