WASHINGTON - National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Ensign's desperate pleas to his colleagues for campaign cash have largely fallen on deaf ears.

With a week to go until Election Day, Ensign has collected contributions to the NRSC from only a handful of members, according to an internal committee count. The lack of giving left the NRSC $9 million short of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

The uneven financial playing field comes as a handful of Senate seats hang in the balance. Public polling shows races in Oregon, North Carolina, Minnesota, Georgia, Kentucky, and Mississippi as tight. Should Democrats gain 9 seats on Election Day they will have the 60 votes needed to avoid a filibuster.

On Monday, Ensign himself seemed to acknowledge the potential for Democrats to reach 60, saying in a television interview that it was a "fair possibility."

The NRSC's cash shortfall doesn't emanate from any lack of trying on Ensign's part.  Over the summer, Ensign's repeatedly and publicly harangued Republican senators to contribute funds to the NRSC. In a late July statement, Ensign announced he was setting the committee's fall advertising budget on the "faith that my Republican colleagues will step up to the challenge and transfer the funds necessary to remain competitive with the Democrats."

"I have informed my colleagues that it is now up to them," the Nevada Senator concluded.

A month later, Ensign issued a blistering statement, saying that his previous call for cash "has gone largely unanswered," forcing him to reduce the NRSC's ad budget.

"It is still my hope that my Republican colleagues will engage in this election and help match what the Democrats are doing. If they do, I will adjust our budget accordingly," Ensign said.

But in the end, only 10 of 49 GOP senators transferred cash from their campaign accounts. Meanwhile, 47 Democrats contributed to the DSCC.

Missing from the list of GOP givers is U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), the ranking Republican on the powerful Banking Committee, who has more than $13 million in his campaign account.   

A spokeswoman for the Alabama Republican explained that Shelby chooses to give to the NRSC and GOP candidates through his political action committee, Defend America PAC. This cycle, Defend America PAC has donated just $15,000 to the NRSC.

"When people donate to Richard Shelby for U.S. Senate, they know the money goes to Richard Shelby for U.S. Senate. When they donate to Defend America PAC, they know it goes to U.S. Senate candidates," said Shelby spokeswoman Laura Henderson.

Also missing from the list is U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), who has more than $8.5 million on hand. A spokesman said Hutchison was focusing on raising money for the NRSC and Republican candidates.

"She's raised more than the $2 million she pledged to raise in the cycle and is among the top five in the conference. 44 GOP Senators have raised less than her this cycle," Hutchison spokesman Matt Mackowiak said in an e-mail message.

Analysts offer different reasoning for why the NRSC's member fundraising has fallen short this cycle. There is widespread speculation Hutchison will run for governor of Texas in 2010 and that she is looking to conserve campaign funds that can be transferred from her federal account. Statewide races in Texas are expensive due to the high cost of media markets there. 

"It's a hard fundraising pitch when you have few if any pickup opportunities," said Quinn McCord, who analyzes Senate races for the Hotline. "It's also a hard fundraising pitch when you're trying to limit losses rather than reclaim the majority."

Having few strong Republican challengers for Democratic-held seats made Ensign's calls for member cash difficult, McCord said. McCord also argued that after 2006, another difficult cycle for the party, Republicans had learned the importance of stockpiling funds in case a different race comes up from behind them.

But Jennifer Duffy, who monitors Senate races for the Cook Political Report, said Republicans have always been wary of donating to the NRSC."This has been a huge problem for Republicans for years," said Duffy, who argued that Democrats had a more formal process for obtaining dues from members, "Even if you're in-cycle, you've got to give money to the DSCC," explained Duffy.

For a time, Ensign tried to put a more positive face on the lack of giving. In a September press conference the Nevada Republican listed off a handful of new checks he had received from members. But when asked about the subject at an appearance before the National Press Club last week, Ensign answered more soberly.

"Oh, I would want another $10 million," he said.