'Help us': Trump ally and GOP senator Lindsey Graham again begs for cash live on Fox News

South Carolina senator faces battle to hang onto seat

Embattled Republican senator and Trump ally Lindsey Graham on Wednesday night got out the begging bowl on national TV for the second time in days, pleading with donors to dig deep into their pockets and help him hang onto his South Carolina seat.

Mr Graham, who faces the fight of his political life to win re-election in a seat he has held since 2003, appeared on Fox News to give remarks on president Donald Trump's Minnesota rally, before issuing a rallying cry for funds.

"The Democrats are going crazy raising money against the president, myself..." Mr Graham, 65, told the Hannity Show, before attempting to direct viewers to his campaign website. "They're loading me up because I'm chairman of the the judiciary committee."

Mr Graham, who last week bemoaned the improved financial muscle of his Democratic rival Jamie Harrison - who saw a surge in donations following Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death - is at the heart of GOP efforts to install Amy Coney Barrett before election day.

He has pledged to back Mr Trump, 74, in confirming Ms Barrett, a conservative pro-life lawyer, despite having previously said he would never advocate for a justice being installed during an election year.

And with just over a month to go before November's poll, both Mr Graham and Mr Harrison are tied on 48 per cent among likely voters, according to the latest the Quinnipiac University poll.

Urging donors to part with their cash, Mr Graham continued: "We're trying to get to the bottom of what happened with Russian collusion, and get Amy Barrett through...Lindseygraham.com, help us all...we need your help".

Appearing on Fox News to issue his first funding call last week, Mr Graham told the show he was "getting killed financially" by rival Harrison, 44, who reportedly pulled in around $9 million worth of donations in the 72 hours following RBG's death last month.

Responding to the incumbents plea for help, Mr Harrison taunted the GOP politician on Twitter. "Anybody else get the sense that Lindsey Graham just realized he's going to lose on November 3rd?" he said.

He later tweeted the hashtag "#LindseyGrahamIsLosing" as he called for supporters to "keep it that way" by donating more money to his campaign.

The move to replace RBG - a liberal icon who spent almost three decades serving on the highest court in the land - has buoyed both Demorats and Republicans in what has already been described as the most important election in US history.

If the GOP and president confirm Ms Barett then it would decisively tilt the ideological balance of power in the Supreme Court in favour of conservatives. The court's rulings have implications for some of the most important and hotly contested US laws.