Republican presidential candidates turn their sights on the South in Saturday night's debate, with Marco Rubio looking to right his campaign after a costly stumble that gave new hope to some of his rivals.

Just six contenders will take the stage, far from the long line of candidates who participated in earlier Republican debates. But even with a streamlined field, the Republican race remains deeply uncertain.

On the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders said Saturday that opponent Hillary Clinton was becoming "unraveled" by his progress in the race.

Republicans Jeb Bush and John Kasich are vying with Rubio for the support of more traditional Republican voters. But all three are chasing Donald Trump and Ted Cruz.

Having split the first two voting states, Trump and Cruz are hoping to add to their win total in South Carolina's Feb. 20 primary, the next state in the state-by-state voting to decide each party's nominee for president in the November general election.

The relationship between the billionaire and the Texas senator has become increasingly acrimonious in recent days: Cruz released a television advertisement before the debate accusing the real estate mogul of a "pattern of sleaze," spurring Trump to fire back on Twitter with another round of questions about his Canadian-born rival's eligibility to be president.

While Trump will be standing at center stage, signifying his lead in national preference polls, Rubio will be the center of attention.

Florida's junior senator entered the last debate facing criticism from rivals who said that while he delivers a good speech and sharp answers in debates, he lacked depth. He played into that characterization when he repeated the same practiced line multiple times under pressure from New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, contributing to his fifth place finish in the New Hampshire primary.

While Rubio has sought to shed some of his reliance on well-rehearsed talking points in recent days, the debate will be a prime test of whether he can rebound.

Rubio's poor performance has created a potential opening for Bush, the former Florida governor, and Kasich, the current governor of Ohio. Bush in particular will need a solid showing in South Carolina, given his prominent political family's ties to the state, while Kasich is just hoping to remain viable until the race heads to friendly territory for the Midwestern governor.

Also on stage Saturday will be Ben Carson, the retired neurosurgeon who has struggled to stay relevant in the debates as his standing in the race sharply slipped. Carson pledged that he wouldn't allow himself to be ignored.

Poor showings in Iowa and New Hampshire led some frequent debate participants, including Christie and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, to end their campaigns. Nearly all lower polling candidates who have populated undercard debates have also all ended their White House bids.

Former Secretary of State Clinton has sharpened her argument in recent days that Sanders, an avowed socialist, is pitching unrealistic domestic ideas, lacks foreign policy depth and can't match her commitment to minority voters '€” important constituencies in the coming contests in South Carolina and Nevada.

On Saturday, she kept up the pressure at a union rally in Henderson, Nevada, saying the Sanders health plan would "cost an enormous amount in taxes for every single American."

Sanders, a Senator from Vermont, spoke to reporters Saturday before flying to Colorado for a Democratic dinner at which both he and Clinton were scheduled to appear. He used unusually blunt words to express frustration with his opponent.

"I am really stunned by some of the attacks we are getting from Secretary Clinton," he said. "Clearly they have been unraveled by the results in Iowa, by our victory in New Hampshire and the progress we are making all over this country." (**)

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