Marco Rubio rises to challenge his former Florida mentor, Jeb Bush, in 2016 Presidential election

Rubio's youth may hinder his attempt to run

While the field of potential candidates who intend to run for the Republican nomination in 2016 starts to form up, one relationship between two likely candidates may cause some raised brows and speculation.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Marco Rubio, a Florida Senator, and Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida, have both given the impression that they intend to run for President in 2016, and their previous relationship in Florida politics may end up taking center stage.

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A little over four years ago, when Rubio was elected to the Senate, Bush introduced him before a crowded room of Republicans; "Marco Rubio makes me cry for joy," he said.

In 2012, in his memoir, Rubio called Bush "the man I most admired in Florida politics."

Rubio is seen as Bush's protege by many, but Rubio may need to separate himself from Bush during the election, especially over differing opinions that may arise, and it seems he's wasting no time doing so.

"I wouldn't diminish the relationship or exaggerate it," said Rubio during a recent interview in Florida. "It wasn't that he sat me down and gave me a lecture..." he continued. As if answering whether Bush really was his mentor Rubio said "you learn from being exposed to people."

But how different are the two men? Both have been political allies for more than a decade, and even developed in the same predominantly Hispanic city of Miami.

While the student-mentor relationship between the two men was an asset in their political lives, it may turn into a fatal flaw if either competes against the other in 2016.

Rubio, a 43-year-old, may look inexperienced compared to his 62-year-old rival, who also governed Florida for two years. Meanwhile, Bush inherits the legacy of his brother and father, and could easily be called out as belonging to the same cast of GOP old guard that has proved divisive within the Republican party and the nation as a whole.

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Still, perhaps Rubio's youth is less a problem than Bush's age, and it seems the Senator is trying with all his might to separate himself from the older GOP well before the elections.

"I never worked for him," Rubio said of Bush. "I was never a staffer of his."

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