Viewer's Guide: 'Softer' GOP debate? So says Trump, maybe

WASHINGTON (AP) — 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.

[...] who doesn't — given the bullying, sexual innuendo and unintelligible yelling that has made 11 previous Republican face-offs something less than family-friendly?

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.

Taking the stage in the state he has represented in government for 16 years, 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.

Even some of Rubio's Senate colleagues who had endorsed him on Wednesday displayed a bit of a hangover after Rubio won zero contests the night before.

[...] watch whether he lets them push his buttons, yells back — or shows the discipline to stay commanding but above the often juvenile tone that Trump himself has set.

Watch for whether Cruz tries to knock out Rubio and end his candidacy on his home turf, or continues to go after Trump.

The Ohio governor has been very clear about hanging his presidential hopes on Tuesday's races on his turf — in Ohio and Illinois, where trade and economic anxiety are high.