MIDDLETOWN — Sitting around a long table at a Mexican restaurant, a diverse group of 12 people talks political strategy.

They are men and women, middle-aged computer technicians and young bankers, independent thinkers, Democrats at heart and long-time Republicans.

And they're all working to get Ron Paul elected president of the United States.

With only 16 days until the presidential primary in New York, the only campaign signs screaming for attention in our region are those for Paul, the Republican congressman from Texas whose grassroots campaign has grown through the Internet and attracted supporters nationwide and locally.

"If anyone wants to know what Ron Paul stands for, they go to his Web site. That's the spirit of this campaign," said Jim McMahon of Cuddebackville, who leads a group of 54 Paul supporters in Orange County. Paul groups also gather in Dutchess, Ulster, Rockland and Westchester counties.

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Locals say they're supporting Paul because he doesn't cater to party-line politics.

On the so-called liberal side, Paul is against the Iraq war and the Patriot Act. On the so-called conservative end, Paul is anti-abortion and supports gun ownership. And there are positions unique to Paul. For instance, he wants to dissolve the Federal Reserve because he says it diminishes the dollar. He believes all laws should be based on the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

"I agree with almost everything he stands for — 99 percent of it," said Joe Eldred, a teacher from Central Valley who changed from Independent to Republican last year just to vote for Paul. "He's really the only candidate I'd vote for."

Locals are promoting Paul through phone calls and signs and by distributing pamphlets at grocery store parking lots.

From New Windsor to Stone Ridge to Fallsburg, Ron Paul signs stick to gas pumps and hang from highway overpasses. Some of his supporters even put signs near Woodbury Common Outlets on the eve of Black Friday for utmost exposure.

The campaign effort is mostly funded by local supporters.

"On the campaign's dime we get a list of voters," McMahon said. "On our dime we make literature and give effort."

The effort has seen positive results. Paul's campaign raised more money in one day — $6 million — than any other candidate, with an average donation of $100. Mainstream media largely ignore Paul, but he beat the much better-known Fred Thompson in Michigan and New Hampshire, and Rudy Giuliani in Michigan and Iowa.

If polls hold true, it's unlikely that Paul will win the nomination. But supporters say a vote for Paul is a vote for what's right, not what's popular.

"He's not campaigning for our votes; he's campaigning for what he truly believes," said Carl Scheuering, 41, of Monroe. "If he gets the nomination, it's a whole new ball game."