Sen. Warren says she won't run for president in 2016

Catalina Camia | USA TODAY

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said Wednesday that she intends to complete her first term in the U.S. Senate and not run for president in 2016.

"I'm not running for president, and I plan to serve out my term," Warren said in quotes that were first reported by The Boston Herald and Boston Globe. Warren's Senate office confirmed her comments.

Warren, who has strong support among some liberals, made her remarks during a news conference with Boston Mayor-elect Martin Walsh.

Warren, a former Harvard law professor who helped launch the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, became a rising star in Democratic politics with her populist views and criticism of Wall Street.

Warren defeated GOP Sen. Scott Brown in one of the nation's most closely watched and expensive Senate races in 2012. She will be up for re-election in the Senate in 2018, and her current term will end January 2019.

Hillary Rodham Clinton has been leading early public opinion polls for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016. The former secretary of State and U.S. senator for New York has said it is too early to decide about her political future.

At the Boston news conference, Warren was asked about the speculation about the 2016 presidential race. She said she is "working as hard as I can to be the best possible senator that I can be and to fight for the things that I promised during my campaign to fight for."

"I'm glad to see any possible energy put behind those fights," Warren said, reference to her push for bank accountability and legislation to help the middle class.

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