Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul is scheduled to speak at a town hall at UC San Diego this evening.
The Texas congressman, the only Republican still challenging part-time La Jolla resident Mitt Romney, the expected GOP presidential nominee, is on a California tour that has taken him to UC Davis and Cal State Fullerton, where he drew a crowd of about 4,000 Wednesday.
Paul has a loyal, mostly young, libertarian-oriented following. "Ron Paul Revolution'' stickers and posters frequently pop up during election seasons.
"I believe that this is an exciting opportunity for people to involve themselves in the political process,'' said Amy Lock of Youth for Paul at UCSD.
"Personally, I think that Rep. Paul is the most able candidate to lead our country, but regardless of political ideology, an event like this really stirs up enthusiasm among students on campus.''
In a radio interview Thursday, Paul told hostess Laura Ingraham that Romney would only be "marginally'' better than President Barack Obama, mainly because his U.S. Supreme Court choices would be more conservative.
The Paul campaign is believed to be working to secure delegates at the state and district-level to give him more influence at the Republican National Convention in August in Tampa.
Seating at the mall at Warren College will begin at 6 p.m. and the event is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
