Free Republic

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.

Mitt Romney's the favorite at this early stage in a couple key Republican primary states: Florida and Nevada. Romney came up short in Florida last time, but for now Republicans in the state prefer him to the other leading potential 2012 candidates. Romney gets 31% with Palin and Gingrich tied for second at 23% and Huckabee and Paul further back at 15% and 6% respectively. These numbers are good news for Romney and bad news for Huckabee and Palin...