GOP debate strategy: Ignore Donald Trump, coach says

MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) - Republican presidential candidates will take their sparring to the stage at the Reagan National Library on Wednesday night.  But before any of the candidates take the stage, there are some things to know.

“An argument has three points,” Edina High School Speech and Debate coach Andy Charrier said. “It has the claim, warrant, and impact.”

But it’s good to also know that most of the candidates will not be following those rules.  If we've learned anything this primary season, it's that words like "loser" and "light weight" are okay.  And the rules of debate like those of war are open to interpretation.

"If I were coaching all the other candidates against Donald Trump I would say pretend he's not there,” Charrier said.

Charrier expects plenty of bombastic language from the GOP frontrunner. But polls show the softer spoken challenger Ben Carson is quickly gaining ground.  The latest New York Times, CBS News poll has Carson trailing Trump by just four points.

"This has clearly been the year so far with the Republicans of the anti-establishment candidate,” political science professor David Schultz, Hamline University, said.