Washington (CNN) Hillary Clinton is touting her potential to make history as the nation's first female president as "one of the merits" behind her campaign.

She played up her gender during a stop in West Columbia, South Carolina on Thursday. When a man told Clinton that his 10-year-old daughter told him, "You guys have had it long enough," Clinton seized the moment.

"Clearly, I'm not asking people to vote for me simply because I'm a woman. I'm asking people to vote for me on the merits," Clinton said.

Then she directly addressed gender, adding: "I think one of the merits is I am a woman. And I can bring those views and perspectives to the White House."

Clinton is far less reluctant to discuss her history-making bid to become the first woman president during her 2016 campaign than she was in her 2008 bid for the Democratic nomination.

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