Rubio Skips CPAC Meeting

Florida Republican Senate candidate Marco Rubio delivered the opening address at last year’s Conservative Political Action Conference, but now-Sen. Rubio has announced he won’t attend this year’s CPAC.

Rubio will instead focus on his Senate duties, then “return to Florida for a working weekend capped off by the Pinellas County Lincoln Day Dinner” on Feb. 12, according to spokesman Alex Burgos.

Rubio’s team “has been trying to play down national media exposure as part of an effort to show he’s focused on doing the job,” the St. Petersburg Times reported.

Sponsored by the American Conservative Union (ACU), the CPAC gathering traditionally has been a marquee event on the conservative political calendar. This year's conference is scheduled to run Feb. 10 to 12 in Washington and will feature leading Republican presidential contenders Haley Barbour, Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, and John Thune.

Last year Rubio brought the house down with a powerful speech on American exceptionalism, delivering a fiery assault on President Obama's economic policies and his administration's handling of national security.