Hillary Clinton came closer than any other woman to winning the White House on Tuesday but fell short for a second time, a bitter disappointment for a pioneering but polarising American political figure.

Seeking to win election to the office her husband Bill Clinton held from 1993 to 2001, Clinton, 69, lost her battle for the Democratic presidential nomination to Barack Obama in 2008.

She lost on Tuesday to Republican Donald Trump, 70.

Trump told supporters at a rally early on Wednesday that Clinton had phoned to congratulate him on his victory.

A Clinton campaign aide confirmed the phone call.

In 2000, Clinton became the only first lady to win elected office, as a U.S. senator from New York.

In 2009, she became the third female secretary of state.

In July, she became the first woman to claim a major U.S. party’s presidential nomination.

The presidency turned out to be a bridge too far.

Accepting her party’s nomination in July, she embraced the historic nature of her candidacy, saying that “when any barrier falls in America it clears the way for everyone.

“After all, when there are no ceilings, the sky’s the limit, so let’s keep going.

“Let’s keep going until every one of the 161 million women and girls across America has the opportunity she deserves to have,” Clinton said.

During four decades in public life, Clinton withstood such controversies as an FBI investigation of her use of a private email server as secretary of state, probes into her past business dealings.

Also is of her husband’s infidelity and an unsuccessful Republican effort to remove him from office.

Two American women, Geraldine Ferraro in 1984 and Sarah Palin in 2008, were nominated by major parties as their vice presidential nominees, but fell short in the general election.