Sens. Rubio, Paul Among This Year's CPAC Headliners

Both potential 2016 contenders

Marco Rubio of Florida and Rand Paul of Kentucky will be among the headliners at this year's Conservative Political Action Conference, the conservative movement's annual pep rally and popularity contest for the Republican party's likely presidential contenders.

Too early to be talking about 2016? Not really. The Iowa caucus is roughly two years away, and if past cycles are any indication, candidates typically launch their campaigns more than six months before then. That means 2014 is the year when would-be candidates start securing big donors and building the groundwork in early-voting states.