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U.S. Republican presidential hopefuls are again preparing to face each other onstage, with Rick Santorum expected to get intensified scrutiny from rivals in an Arizona debate after emerging as the main challenger to Mitt Romney.

Wednesday night's CNN candidates' debate in Mesa marks the first full candidates' debate in almost a month — and the first time a surging Santorum has been cast as a top-tier candidate in a race that has already seen several stunning rises and dramatic falls.

Santorum has also faced controversy in recent days for suggesting Obama's policies were drawn from a "phoney theology … not found in the Bible" and was also forced to defend comments made in a 2008 speech that re-emerged Tuesday, in which he said "Satan" was targeting the United States.

When questioned about the speech Wednesday, Santorum told reporters he is a "person of faith" who believes "in good and evil."

"I think if somehow or another because you’re a person of faith you believe in good and evil is a disqualifier for president, we're going to have a very small pool of candidates who can run for president," he said.

At different points during the last six months, Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry and Herman Cain were each vaulted to the poll-leader position, only to see their support dwindle and force them to pull out of the nomination contest.

Newt Gingrich's earlier strong debate performances were credited with his upset win over Romney in South Carolina in January, but a faltering Gingrich ran into a rebounding Romney during the last two debates in Florida.

Romney's harder debate punches — coupled with a multi-million-dollar negative advertising blitz of Florida airwaves —stopped any momentum Gingrich had from South Carolina and paved the way for Romney win the Sunshine State by a significant margin.

But the race has changed again since Florida. Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator and staunch social conservative, channelled three Midwest state wins in early February into a national surge in polls and sparked more questions about Romney's ability to garner support from the party's conservative wing.

Santorum has performed consistently well in previous debates, especially when facing off against Romney. He has been the most effective in criticizing the health-care reform plan Romney introduced as Massachusetts governor, which was used as a model for President Barack Obama's national plan.

Santorum's rivals, especially Romney and Ron Paul, are trying to undermine his claims to being a fiscal conservative, portraying him as a Washington insider who pushed for more federal spending for his home state.

Romney, in turn, has faced pointed attacks in previous debates over his job-creation record while governor and his private-sector career as a successful CEO of an investment banking firm that oversaw restructuring of companies and layoffs of employees.

Michigan race a dead heat

Like Arizona, Michigan also holds its primary next Tuesday, and polls there suggest Romney has pulled even with Santorum in the state after trailing the upstart candidate by double digits in recent days. In most national polls, Santorum still leads over Romney, although several place his lead within the margin of error.

Romney, who was born and raised in Michigan as the son of a powerful governor and auto executive, was initially not expected to face a significant challenge in the state.

Gingrich, who rode earlier strong debate performances to earn a surprise win in South Carolina in January but hasn't won a state contest since, could also look to steal headlines in Wednesday night's event and rejuvenate his campaign.

Paul, a Texas congressman, has seen solid and dedicated support throughout the nomination race, especially in caucus states. But the libertarian favourite, who advocates the removal of all U.S. soldiers from foreign bases and the elimination of the Federal Reserve, has yet to win a state contest outright and often finds himself on the periphery of debate exchanges.