NEW YORK  —  Senator Hillary Clinton (search) gave Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry (search) her endorsement Tuesday, as the Massachusetts senator rode his way to a sweeping victory in several Democratic primaries.

"This is going to be a year, I believe, for Senator Kerry who will be our nominee and I will do everything I can to get him elected. So I hope that next year we will have a Democrat in the White House," she told Japan's Nippon Television Network Corporation.

Kerry has all but sealed the Democratic nomination in the Super Tuesday (search) primaries by winning nine of ten states including New York and driving his rival John Edwards (search) from the race.

NTV said it was the first time that Clinton had openly declared her support for a candidate. She declined to speculate on who might be selected to be his vice presidential running mate.

The interview was conducted at Clinton's Washington, D.C. office on Tuesday and broadcast Wednesday morning in Japan.