Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) will appear as the special guest at a fundraiser next week to benefit South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint's 2010 re-election, according to a copy of the invitation obtained by the Fix.

 

The event, which will be held on Monday in Charleston at the home of Sheila and Bill Prezzano, features a number of power players in Palmetto State politics including money men Dick Coen, Bill Hewitt and O.L. Thompson as well as former Gov. Jim Edwards, former Rep. Tommy Hartnett and Republican National Committeewoman Cindy Costa.

 

Hosts for the event are expected to donate $4,800 per couple while sponsors must give $2,400.

 

Romney's presence at the fundraiser is yet another sign of the former governor's interest in a second presidential bid in 2012.

 

In the 2008 election, Romney lavished time and money on South Carolina for much of 2007 and even won the endorsement of DeMint. But, ultimately, Romney barely competed in the state in 2008 -- edged out by social conservatives like former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson. Romney finished fourth in South Carolina in 2008 with 15.1 percent of the vote.

 

With South Carolina's unblemished record of picking the GOP nominee -- every Republican candidate to win the Palmetto State primary has gone on to win the party nod since the state moved its primary forward in 1980 -- Romney clearly understands that he cannot repeated his 2008 fade if he wants to be the standard-bearer against President Barack Obama in November 2012.