Trailing its GOP counterpart by $16 million, the Democratic Party's Senatorial Campaign Committee has to husband its resources for viable candidates. One surprising candidate on that list of DSCC beneficiaries is South Carolina's Alex Sanders. One of just 12 candidates receiving DSCC assistance, Sanders is making a race out of a contest most assumed was safe GOP.

Sanders' last internal poll put him within 8 points of his GOP opponent Graham (46-38). Our Campaigns is reporting a Survey USA poll with a 49-47 narrow lead for Sanders. I have said it before, and I will say it again -- Survey USA polls are crap. But those numbers are fun to look at anyway. It will be interesting to see what the next Mason-Dixon poll has to say on the matter.

Update: Graham lies about his military service:

Graham has been accused of being less than honest about his own life. Some veterans say he is trying to mislead voters about his military service.

Before and during the Gulf War, when he practiced law in Pickens County, Graham was called to active duty in the S.C. Air National Guard. At McEntire Air National Guard Station, he helped Air Force personnel get their legal affairs in order.

In subsequent campaigns, Graham referred to himself as a veteran of Operation Desert Storm. His "Graham for Senate" Web site refers to him as a "Gulf War veteran."

Calling himself a veteran of the conflict, as opposed to a "Gulf War-era veteran," implies he came close to the fighting, says retired Army Col. Angelo Perri of Columbia, who served in Korea and Vietnam.

"To me, he was a lawyer. He performed a wonderful service, but he was not a combat officer. So why try to imply that he was there?"