Trump ally Lindsey Graham in close re-election race as Democratic group ramps up spending against him

Donald Trump ally gripes on Fox News: 'I'm being killed financially’

Lindsey Graham, a close Donald Trump ally, is running a dead heat with his Democratic challenger – and a cash-rich group is ready to spend in South Carolina in hopes of ousting the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman.

Mr Graham leads Jaime Harrison by a single percentage point (45 to 44) with just over a month until Election Day, according to a CBS News-YouGov poll.

Nearly 10 per cent of those surveyed (9 per cent) said they remain unsure which candidate will get their vote.

Mr Graham has been in close races before which he turned into comfortable victory margins. But his comments during a recent Fox News Channel interview suggest this time might be different.

“I'm being killed financially. This money is because they hate my guts,” he said of a Democratic super PAC injecting millions of new dollars into the Palmetto State race.

Senate Majority PAC, a group set up to help Democrats take back control of the Senate, says it will spend $6.5m on pro-Harrison ads.

“There’s a reason Lindsey Graham is hitting the panic button and begging for donations on cable news: He’s vulnerable and he knows it,” JB Poersch, the PAC’s president, said in a statement.