Former South Carolina Republican Party chair Katon Dawson is beginning discussions with GOP donors to start raising money for a new super PAC to take on Donald Trump in his home state, the latest illustration of growing worries among more establishment Republicans that the real estate mogul could become the party's nominee.

Dawson, who ran a super PAC that backed Sen. Lindsey Graham's successful 2014 reelection effort, says he is looking to raise more than $2 million to fund an effort that would include television ads but also on-the- ground efforts to highlight Trump's controversial remarks, more liberal positions on some issues and to raise doubts about Trump's ability to win the general election. South Carolina is the third state in the GOP primary process, and polls show Trump leading there, as well as in Iowa, New Hampshire and nationally.

Dawson's comments come as the head of the Club for Growth, a conservative anti-tax group, told the Washington Examiner this week it is also trying to raise millions to fund some kind of broader effort to defeat Trump. The group already spent $1 million in ads this summer arguing that the real estate mogul is not a true conservative.

"There was a fair amount of denial early on that Donald Trump could win the primary. When you have a 30-point number in South Carolina [Trump is getting more than 30 percent of the state's vote in current polls], that tells me he can win the primary. You will have to stop Donald Trump," said Dawson, who was an adviser on Rick Perry's campaign until the former Texas governor dropped out last month.