House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said Thursday the party is uniting behind former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to run for president in 2016.

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Asked by USA Today whether Democrats are coalescing behind Clinton, Pelosi replied, "I think so; I think so."

"There's a great deal of excitement about the prospect that she would run," Pelosi said.

And the California Democrat stopped just shy of offering a formal endorsement.

"I'm not making endorsements right now, because I don't think that's appropriate," Pelosi said. "But I am gauging, I'm gauging. I'm encouraging people to think about it, so in case she asks us, we have something to say to her."

Clinton's favorability rating has slipped in recent months, coinciding with the fallout from the terror assault in Benghazi, Libya last September.

"I don't know why she wouldn't run," Pelosi told USA Today. "She's prepared. She's well-known. She's highly respected. She knows she could do the job very, very well."

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