GOP debate in Miami: What to watch for

The four remaining 2016 Republican presidential candidates square off Thursday night at the University of Miami in a debate sponsored by The Washington Times, CNN and Salem Media Group.

Here’s what to watch for out of the four contenders:

Does Donald duck?

GOP front-runner Donald Trump said on CNN Wednesday he’s hoping for a softer, gentler debate in the wake of the past two, where he’s been targeted with repeated attacks from Sens. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz.

But as the props at Mr. Trump’s Tuesday evening press conference showed (an apparent response to 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who recently name-checked Trump-brand products in a speech deriding the billionaire businessman), he doesn’t always pull punches if he feels slighted.

As the clear front-runner in the 2016 GOP race, Mr. Trump could try to deflect personal attacks and pivot to his recent calls for the GOP to unify around his candidacy.

Or, he could “counter-punch” once again at “Little Marco” and/or “Lyin’ Ted.”

Who is Ted Cruz’s target?

Mr. Cruz is in a clear second place to Mr. Trump in the delegate count and has repeatedly said he plans to take him down once the GOP race gets to a one-on-one contest.

If Mr. Trump romps in winner-take-all states like Florida and Ohio on Tuesday, it might force Mr. Rubio and/or Ohio Gov. John Kasich from the race and get Mr. Cruz closer to his desired head-to-head.

But a dominant performance on Tuesday would also get Mr. Trump closer to the 1,237 delegates needed to clinch the GOP nomination before the Republican National Convention in July — at which point a one-on-one contest with Mr. Trump might not do Mr. Cruz a whole lot of good.

Republicans bent on stopping Mr. Trump have suggested a Rubio win in Florida and a Kasich win in Ohio should be part of the calculus, since it would slow Mr. Trump’s path to 1,237 before the convention, and delegates could eventually settle on another candidate as long as Mr. Trump is denied a majority on the first ballot.

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SEE ALSO: Donald Trump leads Marco Rubio by 9 points in Florida: poll

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Mr. Cruz has certainly not been shy about stepping up his criticism of Mr. Trump in recent days. But he has also not been afraid to hit back at Mr. Rubio in debates on the issues of immigration and, on at least one occasion, his Spanish-speaking skills.

Which Marco Rubio will we see?

Beginning with the debate in Houston last month, Mr. Rubio started to launch an all-out assault at Mr. Trump, hammering the billionaire businessman on everything from his business record to litigation tied to his Trump University real-estate courses to his hair and hand size.

The Florida senator has not been rewarded by voters, picking up zero delegates in the four states that held their elections Tuesday and amassing only two wins, in Minnesota and Puerto Rico, since that debate.

And Mr. Rubio himself expressed some regret over how the personal attacks have gone in an MSNBC town hall Wednesday, though he said Mr. Trump’s business record is fair game.

Mr. Rubio has a home court advantage Thursday in Miami, and he could be looking for some sort of middle ground between the debate last month New Hampshire, when he was pilloried by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for repeating talking points about President Obama, and his aggressive, free-wheeling personal attacks of Mr. Trump on the campaign trail.

Can John Kasich keep up his nice-guy act?

Mr. Kasich has notably declined to engage in personal attacks in recent debates, and he has spent his time on the campaign trail talking up his own record in Ohio and as chairman of the House Budget Committee.

But he has yet to notch a win in the 2016 race and finished third in Michigan on Tuesday after earlier saying how a good showing in the state would be important for his campaign.

Mr. Kasich and Mr. Trump are close in recent polling on Ohio. The governor might not want to get down in the mud or try to attack Mr. Trump, but the status quo in his temperament and style could yield another second-place finish on Tuesday, and Mr. Kasich has already said he’s going home if he loses his home state.