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Newt Gingrich has often responded best when at his lowest points in a campaign that has seen his prospects plummet more than once.

He's down in the polls again, and Wednesday night's CNN debate in Mesa, Ariz., will offer him another chance to use adversity as political fuel.

The latest Republican presidential faceoff also will be key for Mitt Romney, whose political life on the line, and Rick Santorum will face his first test in the spotlight as a bona fide front-runner.

But for Gingrich, who has fallen almost 20 points behind Santorum in the latest RCP average of national polls, the debate will provide an opportunity to show off a renewed fighting spirit and yet again impress a national TV audience of millions of Republican voters.

It’s been nearly a month since the last Republican debate and almost six weeks since Gingrich’s triumph in the South Carolina primary.

During that time, the former House speaker saw his once substantial lead in Florida end in a double-digit defeat to Romney. He then could do little but watch in the three subsequent voting states where Santorum regained momentum and became the most viable challenger to Romney, according to just about every measure.

To Gingrich, each scheduled debate doubles as a potential gift to his campaign, and he has had Feb. 22 circled on his calendar for weeks. Asked about the candidate’s strategy heading into the gathering, Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond had a two-word answer: “Gas prices.”

As the nationwide average has soared to $3.57 a gallon, Gingrich been hitting on the issue frequently in campaign stops across the country, vowing that the price would drop to $2.50 a gallon under his administration -- and upping the ante in a speech Tuesday in Oklahoma by predicting that it “could easily go down to $2” under his leadership.

Gingrich’s Republican rivals have also been increasingly focused on the rising cost of fuel, and Santorum has been particularly critical of the Obama administration for inadequately exploring and drilling for energy sources.

But Gingrich intends to make the case tonight that he is uniquely qualified to facilitate a reduction in market prices.

“The argument here is not controversial, but the political point behind it is that there are candidates in the race who are capable of making an argument to the American people of why we should be supporting something, and there are candidates who cannot,” Hammond said. “That’s one of the qualifications voters are looking for in finding someone who can take on Barack Obama. It’s part of the tool kit you’d want to send your candidate into the fall with: Who’s the better communicator?”

Gingrich, his advisers say, intends to refocus his points against Obama after a month in which he has engaged in a high level of intra-party warfare with his Republican competitors.

Gingrich will no doubt aim to embrace his previously effective role as the scrappy underdog during the debate, but his planned ascent back to the top of the Republican heap is relatively slow-moving. He has set a modest goal for next Tuesday Michigan primary, aiming for 15 percent of the vote in a state that awards its delegates proportionately.

His campaign acknowledges that Arizona poses a similarly difficult challenge, and the former Georgia congressman is scheduled to leave the state almost immediately following the debate.

His next stop on the trail before turning his focus on Super Tuesday will be Washington state, which holds its caucus on March 3.

Gingrich’s modest aim heading into next month is to simply survive and advance into the next round of voting. But in order to do so as a viable contender, he will need to show off the fighting spirit that has propelled him out of previous troughs.