Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State.
Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2008 . However , due to a close race between Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton of New York , the contest remained competitive for longer than expected , and neither candidate received enough pledged delegates from state primaries and caucuses to achieve a majority , without endorsements from unpledged delegates ( superdelegates ) . Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2016 . A total of six major candidates entered the race starting April 12 , 2015 , when former Secretary of State and New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton formally announced her second bid for the presidency . Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( [ ˈhɪləri_daɪˈæn_ˈrɒdəm_ˈklɪntən ] born October 26 , 1947 ) is an American politician who was the 67th United States Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013 , U.S. Senator from New York from 2001 to 2009 , First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001 , and the Democratic Party 's nominee for President of the United States in the 2016 election . As Secretary of State in the Obama administration from 2009 to 2013 , Clinton responded to the Arab Spring , during which she advocated the U.S. military intervention in Libya . United States presidential election, 2016 . The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana Governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Senator from Virginia Tim Kaine .