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Tea Party favourite Senator Marco Rubio has launched his Republican presidential campaign and already lashed out at Hilary Clinton. Photo: AP

Miami: US Senator Marco Rubio of Florida told top donors on Monday that he will run for the White House because he is "uniquely qualified" to represent the Republican Party in the 2016 presidential race, a source familiar with the matter said.

During a conference call with donors, Rubio criticised Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton as a leader from yesterday and said the 2016 race will be a choice between the past and the future, the source said.

Rubio, a son of Cuban immigrants who rode the anti-establishment Tea Party wave of 2010 to national prominence, will formally announce his presidential bid later on Monday with a speech at Miami's Freedom Tower.

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That is where thousands of Cuban exiles fleeing the communist-run island in the 1960s were first registered by US authorities. Rubio is expected to make a muscular foreign policy a focal point of his campaign, portraying himself as the Republican most ready to handle threats to America in a chaotic world.

Rubio's support registers in single digits in opinion polls of the likely contenders in what is expected to be a crowded Republican presidential field. But aides believe Rubio, who was on 2012 nominee Mitt Romney's short list for vice president, will rise when voters take a closer look at him.

He will be the third Republican to formally announce a White House bid, following Republican Senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Rand Paul of Kentucky.

During the campaign, Rubio probably will compete for donors and endorsements with his political mentor, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, who has been lining up support for a White House bid although he has not yet formally entered the race.

Rubio will be competing for the limelight with Clinton, who grabbed worldwide media attention with the declaration of her candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination in a video announcement on Sunday.

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Tea Party Republican Marco Rubio starts White House bid, takes aim at Hillary Clinton