A lot will be said about each presidential candidate over the coming months.
Menial comments made years ago will be dissected to fit a current narrative, often forcing the person to backtrack and clarify what was said. Voting records are analyzed to see if a candidate has flip flopped on a topic. Even their fundraising efforts come into question, as Hillary Clinton found when word spread that her family's Clinton Foundation accepted foreign donations.
Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio doesn't need to worry about foreign contributors, but he does have hardline stances in areas that directly affect Americans. They're areas - and opinions - that may cost him the 2016 presidential election.
Let's take a look at Rubio's stance on hot-button issues.
Immigration
When it comes to immigration reform, Rubio is holding several positions while committing to none.
In 2013, he helped author a bipartisan reform bill providing undocumented immigrants with a pathway to citizenship. The plan included fines, background checks, and a probation period.
"I'm a big believer in family-based immigration," Rubio said in speaking with the Wall Street Journal two years ago. "But I don't think that in the 21st century we can continue to have an immigration system where only 6.5% of people who come here, come here based on labor and skill. We have to move toward merit and skill-based immigration."
In the same interview, Rubio said immigration is a gateway issue for Hispanics, adding "if people somehow come to believe that you don't like them or want them here, it's difficult to get them to listen to anything else."
The son of Cuban-American parents, Rubio should be the GOP poster child in garnering the Latino vote. He's young, Hispanic, and staunchly opposed to negotiations with communist Cuba. Latinos, after all, are the fastest growing demographic in the United States and will account for 31 percent of the population by 2060.
That January 2013 bill Rubio sponsored is the same one he urged Republican senators not to sign six months later. It was more of the same one year later when President Obama asked Congress to approve a $3.7 billion emergency package to help 68,000 unaccompanied children that illegally crossed the border.
Rubio said Obama was closing the door to real immigration reform, saying "there is no realistic path forward on comprehensive reform for the foreseeable future." He shared a similar sentiment when he sat down with NPR's Steve Inskeep last week.
Rubio said he's done more for immigration reform in comparison to Clinton, though he didn't think Congress did enough to give his bill a chance.
Gay Marriage
The GOP stance on LGBT rights has softened over the last few years, as was apparent with the backlash an Indian pizza shop received after saying they would hypothetically not cater a gay wedding.
Far-right conservatives may have issue with this, especially with a majority of the country supporting gay unions. Still, for Rubio to earn the party's nomination he will have to cater to long held beliefs.
Rubio is warming to the idea of gays individuals getting married, and told Univision's Jorge Ramos that he would attend if invited.
"If it's somebody in my life that I care for, of course I would," Rubio said. "I'm not going to hurt them simply because I disagree with a choice they've made or because I disagree with a decision they've made, or whatever it may be."
This is a far cry from an April 11 interview when Rubio said he would never support a federal constitutional amendment on marriage. He said decision on how marriage is defined belongs to the states.
In a 2010 voter registration guide for the Christian Coalition, Rubio marked "supports" next to the topic that amends preventing same-sex marriage. Rubio has, for the most part, opposed the union but has conceded that he would follow the law of the land if the Supreme Court though otherwise.
Health Care
Before the Affordable Care Act - or Obamacare - was implemented nationwide, Rubio backed a market-oriented health care system that aimed to lower insurance costs for millions of Floridians.
Florida Health Choices opened last year. To date, the program's $2.4 million are covering 80 people.
One of the biggest gripes with Rubio's plan is that it doesn't subsidize low-income or middle-class families like Obamacare does. Ironically, Florida residents have become among Obamacare's biggest supporters.
While Rubio's hasn't conceded that the program is a dud, he's done everything to avoid talking about it. In a Feb. 23 op-ed, Rubio doesn't once reference Florida Health Choice.
"The free market, when allowed to function as intended, has no such limitations [compared to Obamacare]. It has an inexhaustible ability to empower our people and meet their needs. We need leaders in Congress - and in the White House - who will recognize that fact."
The freshman senator said he would target tax breaks for job-based insurance and set up high-risk pools to help those with expensive pre-existing medical conditions, but doesn't say how this plan differs from the one he championed as an alternative to Obamacare.
Climate Change
The threat of climate change is real in Florida. Saltwater has seeped into groundwater supplies, people are complaining of beach erosion, and knee-deep floods aren't unusual in many neighborhoods.
A Yale study found 56 percent of Floridians believe humans are partial responsible for worsening conditions. Rubio isn't as convinced. In an appearance on "ABC's This Week" last May, Rubio agreed that the climate is changing but disregarded the notion that humans are playing a part.
"I do not believe that human activity is causing these dramatic changes to our climate the way these scientists are portraying it," Rubio said, adding "I do not believe that the laws that they propose we pass will do anything about it, except it will destroy our economy."
Climate change is not on top of voters' list of concerns, and the fact that it's less of a factor in gaining the GOP nomination gives Rubio an advantage heading into campaign season.
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