WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Republican Party has declared that he wants Thursday's Republican presidential debate to be "more of a G-rated" event than recent showdowns.
Here's a look at what to watch for on the CNN-hosted debate, beginning at 7:30 p.m. at the University of Miami:
GEE: HOW QUAINT
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, the take-no-sides chief fundraiser for the party, has been saying all week that he wants the whatever-it-takes "tone" of past debates to improve on Thursday's debate stage.
On Wednesday, he described on CNN just how, saying he'd like to see "more of a G-rated debate" than "some of the things that have been said in the past."
He said the RNC has spoken to the campaigns and to the sponsors about taking steps to "reduce the temperature" on the debate stage and in the audience.
RUBIO'S REGRET
Taking the stage in the state he has represented in government for 16 years, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is facing the prospect of losing the Florida primary to Donald Trump and possibly Ted Cruz in Tuesday's winner-take-all contest. It's a painful predicament for the U.S. senator and lawyer who has nursed presidential ambitions for years, rounded up prominent endorsements from establishment Republicans and even stooped to Trump's schoolyard-taunting style. All that has produced only two primary wins — in Minnesota and Puerto Rico.
By Wednesday, Rubio himself said publicly on MSNBC that he's "not entirely proud" of slinging personal insults about Trump's tan, his hair and the size of his hands — which set off Trump's racy comment about his anatomy. Rubio said his own children were "embarrassed" by his actions.
Read Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.