Marco Rubio Avoiding Iowa and New Hampshire in 2013

With the likes of former U.S. Sen Rick Santorum, R-Pa., and U.S. Sen.Ted Cruz, R-Texas, heading out to Iowa this weekend for the Family Leader Summit in Ames, eyes are starting to turn to the Hawkeye State as the race for the Republican presidential nomination starts to shape up.

But, as David Cantenese over at The Run notes, a few of the top contenders are missing -- including U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. Cantenese talked to Rubios team and found they intend to keep Rubio away from the early states like Iowa and New Hampshire in the months to come.

One thing to note -- Rubios team did not rule out heading to those states in 2014. With a U.S. Senate seat open in Iowa with U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, retiring, looking for Rubio to head out to the Hawkeye State in 2014.