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Washington If MarcoRubiolaunches his presidential campaign as expected Monday, the first-term Republican senator from Florida may have to answer this simple question. Why now?

The 43-year-oldRubio, a rising star on Capitol Hill, could wait four more years, even eight, and still be a relatively young candidate.

Some party officials want him to run for governor or try to hold his Senate seat, which could be crucial to continued Republican control of the chamber. By training his sights on the White House,Rubioalso sets up a head-to-head competition with Jeb Bush, a mentor with whom he has many overlapping supporters.

Rubiowas expected to announce his candidacy Monday in his hometown of Miami, which would put him in the shadow of Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton's highly anticipated announcement Sunday of a second White House run in a bid to become the first female U.S. president.Rubio, a Cuban-American, could make history too by being the first Hispanic president.

The window to run for president can close as quickly as it opens.

Then-Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois seized an opportunity in 2008 and won. Donors clamored for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to run in 2012, but he declined and now heads into the 2016 campaign in a decidedly weaker position.

"There's no telling that (Rubio's) opportunity will be better four or eight years from now," said Fergus Cullen, the former New Hampshire Republican chairman who is yet to throw his support behind a candidate.

Rubio'sadvisers know all about the fickle preferences of the electorate.Rubiowas a beneficiary of the 2010 tea party wave that swept dozens of conservative lawmakers into Congress just two years after Obama and Democrats won big.

ButRubio'steam sees an opportunity to answer the "why now" question and argue the country's pressing problems require a new generation of leaders, not a return to the 1990s.

Rubiois about to step into a field that is shaping up to be crowded and competitive.

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Rubio seeks opening in 2016 Republican field