Lesser-known candidates find 'highly motivated' help

Barack Obama lives in Chicago; Hillary Clinton grew up in Park Ridge. Naturally, their campaigns mine lots of volunteers from the area.

But other campaigns also have staunch suburban backers willing to invest hours, miles, shoe leather and their powers of persuasion.

Take for instance, Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul, who maintains a field office in Arlington Heights. One evening last week found a group of Paul supporters answering questions inside the Golf Road facility, handing out literature and charting excursions on the candidate's behalf.

Bob Schlereth -- wearing a T-shirt reading: "Who is Ron Paul, and why is he trying to save my country?" -- was planning his next trip to Iowa, a literature-distribution outing to Davenport on Saturday.

Schlereth, of Lake Zurich, has gone to Iowa before, as has Justin Kapacinskas of Schaumburg. They said a number of suburban residents were among the several hundred Paul supporters who flocked to Iowa to protest and rally in June after the Texas congressman was excluded from an early debate.

Paul's supporters say their bottom-up, grassroots drive to raise money and votes will pay off and surprise many observers when the caucuses and primaries get under way.

"To win in the primaries, a candidate's supporters have to be highly motivated," said Dan Burch, of Oak Park. "Dr. Paul's are very highly motivated."