Marco Rubio is hoping his Mormon background will aide him in garnering the support of that constituency in early state voting in his run for the Oval Office.

According to Politico, Rubio has a brief history as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), which he is hoping could now pay dividends in his Republican run for the White House.

In Nevada, the Florida senator is already leveraging his background in hopes of building a groundswell of support. In the region, Mormons only make up a small percentage of the overall population, but are the voice of a powerful constituency in the world of Republican politics.

Nevada Lt. Gov. Mark Hutchison is serving as Rubio's state chairman, and has already held several meet-and-greet and backyard events for the candidate.

"In touring with Hutchison, that's a really good way to let everyone know in the LDS community that Marco is doing the legwork," said Steve Fellows, a 2012 fundraiser for Mitt Romney and a former Mormon bishop, who hasn't endorsed a candidate yet.

Nevada is the first state to vote in the West, and Rubio's ability to win over LDS voters could go a long way in determining his fate.

But winning over that crowd won't come easy, as rivals Jeb Bush, Ben Carson and Scott Walker are all also actively starting to play to that crowd.

Rubio, however, saw the opportunity and moved faster, several Nevada operatives said.

"Scott Walker and Ben Carson resonate with Mormons too," said former stake president Wayne Tew. "But they haven't done as well as Rubio, and gotten as immersed as Rubio has. Rubio mobilized here better than Carson or Walker did. Either Walker or Carson could have done that too, but they didn't."