Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, may not be a household name across the country, but many Napa County drivers are at least familiar with it.

That’s because a dedicated group of locals have been posting campaign signs at crucial spots throughout the valley, letting fellow Republicans and others know about the libertarian-minded candidate for president.

It’s just one example of efforts Napa County residents are making in presidential campaigns as the Feb. 5 Super Tuesday primary looms. There are also Napans for Sen. Barack Obama, Sen. John McCain, Sen. Hillary Clinton and — up until he quit the race Wednesday — former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

“I haven’t seen a single sign by one of the other candidates. They may be out there, but just driving around I haven’t seen anything,” said Don Snyder, the Ron Paul Meetup organizer for Napa County.

That’s about to change, said Doug Pharr, a Napa lawyer and Marine Corps veteran campaigning for Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

“I’ve got one (sign) in front of my lawn. I’ve given some to other folks and I’m planning to give out some other signs,” he said. “It’s not like we have a whole bunch of money in the campaign but I think that will be changing soon.”

McCain won the Florida primary on Tuesday, leading some campaign watchers to anoint him with the mantle of front-runner.

Posting signs is one thing, but Napans have gotten wrapped up in everything from fundraising to hosting events on behalf of one candidate or another.

About three weeks ago, Napan Dick Lemon became the de facto head of a near-spontaneous group of campaigners for Obama. A local resident left a message on the Obama Web site asking if there were Napans who would like to meet for coffee to talk about Obama. The response quickly outgrew the coffee shop and ended up in a packed law office boardroom on Coombs Street.

“It just, boom!” said Lemon, spreading his arms wide. “Individuals are highly motivated to show up. There is no arm-twisting or selling.”

On Saturday, about 76 local Obama volunteers made hundreds of campaign phone calls to local Democrats.

Many of the campaigners have signed up for work using Internet campaign sites, especially true for the Paul, Obama and McCain volunteers.

“It’s very grassroots, there’s nothing really professional about it,” Snyder said. “It’s fun. We enjoy the thing.”

Others, like Marleia Sire, a Giuliani campaign volunteer, signed up after meeting the candidate at a fundraising rally early last year.

“We started building and recruiting volunteers almost right away,” she said. As of (Tuesday) I had a list of 75 in Napa County who signed on as Rudy supporters and volunteers.”

Sire said she was uncertain about which other Republican candidate would get her support now that Giuliani is out of the race. Giuliani endorsed McCain.

“I plan on watching the debate (Wednesday) and paying close attention to what the candidates say,” Sire said.

The Clinton camp got a boost earlier this month when former President Bill Clinton came to campaign for his wife at the Napa Valley Opera House. That energized Benicia resident Tess O’Leary, who said she’s now ready to rally Napa County and Solano County residents for the Clinton campaign.

“I wanted to get involved prior to that but that sort of tipped me over the edge,” she said, adding she plans to hold campaign calling parties at her house.

Whether it was grassroots politics or top-down efforts from the candidates that got people involved, one factor unites both Republican and Democratic campaign volunteers: passion for their candidates.

“In my wildest dreams I never thought I would be involved politically,” said Peter Julio Hoffman, a Republican who is an Obama campaign volunteer. “Watching him speak was like watching nature. Nature doesn’t lie to you and neither does Obama.”

Pharr was equally effusive about John McCain.

“First it was New Hampshire that put him on the map and then they said it was the South Carolina primary that was the test and now he’s won the Florida primary,” he said. “We need somebody that understands the real world and real-world politics.”