A United States senator, who was one of the first major politicians to announce support to the presidential ambitions of Barack Obama, has urged Hillary Clinton to run for president in 2016.

Sen. Tim Kaine, Democrat of Virginia, told a South Carolina Women's Democratic Council breakfast that he will support Clinton's candidacy if she decides to run for president in 2016.

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"I want Hillary Clinton to run for president and will support her if she does," Kaine said, becoming the latest of many democrats who supported Obama against Clinton in the 2008 primaries but who are now backing her for the 2016 presidential poll.

The daughter of President John F. Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy and Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri earlier expressed their support for the Political Action Committee (PAC) called "Ready for Hillary", which is trying to build support for the presidential run by Clinton.

The "super" PAC has already raised more than US $5.7 million since it was launched in 2013 even as Clinton has not yet made an announcement if she will run or not.

Kaine said he supported Obama in the 2008 race because he knew Obama was the right person for the job.

"I'm stating my support for Hillary Clinton for the same reason, but getting there will still be hard," he said, adding that Mrs. Clinton is a classic American optimist with the right background and experiences to lead the United States in a very complicated world.

Clinton, he said, has deep history of engagement on various domestic issues such as the economy, schools and education, family issues and civil and human rights.

Kaine is from Virginia, a key state to Obama's victory in 2008. Virginia was a swinging Democratic in the 2008 elections, the second time since 1952. Kaine, who was Virginia governor at that time, campaigned hard for Obama against Republican Mitt Romney. Obama won Virginia's 13 electoral college votes.

TagsHillary Clinton, President Hillary Clinton, US Presidential Election, Hillary Clinton for President 2016, Ready for Hillary