CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney will return to Charlotte today for a lunch-time fundraiser at the Duke Mansion.

It'll be Romney's third visit since April to the city that'll host the Democratic National Convention in September.

Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, has been on a multi-state bus tour that started August 10 that included stops in North Carolina, a battleground state in the presidential race.

The final leg of the bus tour is expected to end up in Florida, also a swing state in November and the site of the GOP convention in late August.

NASCAR Chief Executive Officer Brian France, car owners Rick Hendrick and Richard Childress and driver Jamie McMurray were among the featured organizers.

The invitation asks donors to give $2,500 to attend a luncheon. Those who give or raise $15,000 can go to a photo perception, while a private round-table meeting awaits those who give or raise.