Graham: There's a 91% chance I'll run (if the money is there)

The already crowded Republican presidential field may soon get a new member.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., says there's a 91% chance he will seek the GOP nomination, though he told Fox News Sunday that he needs to get the necessary "means" -- i.e., raise enough money.

"I've got to put the financing together," Graham told MSNBC's Morning Joe on Monday.

A Graham candidacy could affect the Republican race in at least two ways.

For one thing, Graham has made foreign policy one of his specialties and would likely be more hawkish than many Republicans when it comes to confronting Iran and the Islamic State.

While an underdog for the presidential nomination, Graham also hails from a pivotal Republican state: South Carolina.

Potential opponents such as former Florida governor Jeb Bush, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz see the South Carolina primary -- the first Southern contest -- as a key moment in the GOP race.

The presence of a favorite son on the South Carolina ballot would affect the vote in the Palmetto State and perhaps reduce that primary's influence.

To the degree Graham is a favorite son, that is -- polls show most South Carolinians don't want him to run, and he is trailing Walker, Bush and Cruz at this point.

"Well," Graham told Fox, "if I didn't think I could win South Carolina, I wouldn't be talking to you ... I've been elected numerous times in South Carolina. If I'm on the ballot, I'm going to win South Carolina."