COLUMBIA, S.C. - Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jim DeMint will get White House help later this month filling his campaign coffers as Vice President Dick Cheney headlines a fund-raiser.

The July 23 private appearance at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center on July 23 comes with a ticket cost of $2,000, according to an invitation sent to DeMint's finance committee members on Tuesday.

A year ago, Cheney raised about $300,000 for President Bush's 2004 re-election campaign. That was his last visit to the state.

DeMint, a three-term congressman, is expected to collect a lot of cash with the help of his Washington colleagues in the race to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Ernest "Fritz" Hollings.

South Carolina is one of five Southern states where Democrats are stepping down. Republicans see Hollings seat as a chance to increase their majority in the Senate.

DeMint faces Democratic state Education Superintendent Inez Tenenbaum in the November election.