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GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) -- Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan is spending time this week in deeply conservative states that he and White House hopeful Mitt Romney are almost certain to win.

The goal is less about generating votes than collecting the dollars necessary for a campaign that's costing a fortune.

Ryan is set Friday to pick up campaign donations in South Carolina and Alabama. The Republican nominee four years ago, John McCain, won South Carolina by 9 percentage points and carried Alabama by 21 points.

Campaign aides say such trips are necessary because of the costs of running for the White House. Ryan explains that the last-minute push for cash is necessary to break through "the clutter" of negative ads flooding televisions in states that are up for grabs.