HILLARY CLINTON IS NOT RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT IN 2020 -- FORMER CAMPAIGN CHAIRMAN

Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, is not running for president a third time in the 2020 election, according to John Podesta, her former campaign chairman.

"She says she's not running for president," Podesta during during a CNN interview on Tuesday afternoon.

"I take her at her word," he added. "She's not running for president."

Podesta said he wished "she was president," but added there were already "a lot of great candidates out there."

So far, five congresswomen have shown interest in the presidency as the Democratic Party's nominee, including Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, and Kamala Harris of California; and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii.

Clinton scheduled meetings with presidential hopefuls, according to an Axios report earlier in January. She reportedly met with Harris, Warren, and Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, in addition to Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.

On Tuesday afternoon, Garcetti announcedhe would not be running for president in 2020. Warren has formed an exploratory committee while Harris launched a formal campaign.

Despite winning the popular vote in the 2016 presidential race, Clinton the first female presidential candidate to receive a major political party's nomination lost to Donald Trump. Her campaign was plagued with scandals stemming from email and data leaks, and heated attacks from Trump.

That detail was not lost on Podesta, who reminded CNN viewers on Tuesday that Clinton "got three million more votes than Donald Trump did."

In October 2018, Philippe Reines, Clinton's former senior adviser and deputy secretary of state for strategic communications, toldPolitico that Clinton shouldn't be counted out of 2020 just because she lost in 2016.

Clinton, 71, served as a senator for New York, secretary of state, and first lady during President Bill Clinton's two terms in office from 1993 to 2001.