Sen. Chuck Schumer endorses Hillary Clinton for president

No announcement? No problem. Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) has endorsed Hillary Rodham Clinton for president whether she’s running or not.

Clinton, the former secretary of State and a former senator representing New York, is a presumed favorite for the Democratic nomination for president in 2016. She sought the nomination in 2008, losing to Barack Obama.

That is, she’s favored in 2016 if she chooses to run -- which she hasn’t as of yet.

Nonetheless, Schumer was moving full speed ahead on her behalf Saturday night in front of several hundred Democratic supporters at the Iowa Democratic Party’s Jefferson Jackson dinner in Des Moines.

“Run, Hillary, run,” Schumer said in front of the attendees. “If you run, you’ll win and we’ll all win.”

There is no Republican figure considered to be a prohibitive favorite for the GOP nomination in 2016. Chatter over the presumptive field has included tea party iconoclast Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.

PHOTOS: 2016 presidential hopefuls

Schumer credited Cruz with helping Democrats.

“He’s doing a great job of picking off Republican seats for us now,” Schumer said. “Some say he’s the candidate of the tea party’s dreams; he may the candidate of ours as well.”

Clinton’s camp, meanwhile, absorbed Schumer’s remarks without budging.

Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill told the Associated Press that Schumer was an “old colleague and an even older friend” of Clinton, and “what he said about her is very flattering. Ultimately, though, this is a very personal decision that she hasn’t made.”

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