June 5 (Bloomberg) -- New York Senator Hillary Clinton said she will end a race that brought her closer than any woman in history to the U.S. presidency and in two days announce her endorsement of Illinois Senator Barack Obama.

``I have said throughout the campaign that I would strongly support Senator Obama if he were the Democratic Party's nominee, and I intend to deliver on that promise,'' Clinton, 60, said in an e-mail to supporters early this morning.

The announcement came two days after Obama, 46, clinched the nomination by amassing the required number of delegates to the Democratic National Convention in August. Clinton said she will help ``rally the party'' behind Obama in his campaign against presumptive Republican nominee John McCain.

She also distanced herself from efforts by some supporters who are lobbying for Obama to pick Clinton as his running mate.

Clinton ``is not seeking the vice presidency, and no one speaks for her but her,'' spokesman Howard Wolfson said in a written statement. ``The choice here is Senator Obama's.''

Obama was asked about Clinton's withdrawal while attending a $28,500-a-plate fundraiser in New York last night.

``Truth is, I haven't had time to think about it,'' he said outside the event at 820 Park Avenue in Manhattan. ``This weekend, I'm going home, talk it over with Michelle and we're going on a date,'' he said, referring to his wife.

`Interfamily Squabble'

Inside the event, held at the apartment of Jane Hartley and Ralph Schlosstein, co-founder of the asset manager BlackRock Inc., Obama told about 100 guests that ``now that the interfamily squabble is done,'' Democrats could ``focus on what needs to be done in November.''

Obama overcame the many advantages Clinton had when she entered the race in January 2007. She had one of the best-known names in Democratic politics because of the popularity of her husband, former President Bill Clinton, as well as a deep well of fundraisers and supporters throughout the country.

Obama racked up victories in caucus states by energizing hundreds of volunteer activists. Clinton hardly contested many of the caucus states and as a result fell well behind in the delegate count.

Even so, Clinton kept coming back, winning primaries in Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, among others. She built a strong base of support among blue-collar workers, women and older voters that she argued would be needed to take on McCain, 71, an Arizona senator.

Vice President?

Clinton's strengths in parts of the Democratic electorate have led many supporters to push for a joint ticket. Robert Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television and a longtime Clinton backer, this week sent a letter to House Majority Whip James Clyburn asking him to urge the Congressional Black Caucus to push Obama to pick Clinton as a running mate.

``Why take a risk?'' Johnson said in an interview with Bloomberg Television today. ``Senator Clinton delivered voters that Senator Obama did not.''

While Johnson said Clinton ``definitely would like to be vice president if invited,'' Wolfson's statement sought to end talk that she is campaigning for the job. It didn't rule out her accepting the job if offered.

The beginning of the end for Clinton's campaign came on May 6, when Clinton barely eked out a victory in Indiana and lost North Carolina to Obama by 14 percentage points, leaving her far behind in delegates with only a handful of primaries remaining.

As the voting wrapped up on June 3, Clinton had kind words for her adversary even as she put off a concession.

``It has been an honor to contest these primaries with him, just as it is an honor to call him my friend,'' she said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Lorraine Woellert in Washington at lwoellert@bloomberg.net; Kristin Jensen in Washington at kjensen@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 5, 2008 16:22 EDT