WASHINGTON -- He's a 72-year-old Texas Congressman who first became a U.S. Representative in 1976. Most presidential primary experts--and even his supporters--admit he has little chance of winning the 2008 Republican nomination.

So why is Ron Paul, R-Texas, a hit with young voters?

"That's the question," says 29-year-old Moshe Starkman. He is running for Congress in Maryland as a Republican who espouses Paul’s libertarian values. “It’s striking particularly with kids who historically have no interest in politics. They seem to be invigorated.”

Starkman and 25-year-old Aaron Biterman, who created a Facebook group supporting Paul that now has more than 47,000 members, credit Paul’s ideological consistency and his contrarian political views for his popularity among college-age voters.

“I think that our generation, the younger generation, is sort of a rebellious group,” Biterman says. “For some, their entire adult lives have consisted of George W. Bush in office. They want something different.”

This is not the first time Paul has run for president. He finished a distant third, winning only 0.5 percent of the popular vote, as a third-party Libertarian candidate in 1988.

But his message has not changed in 20 years. Paul says he wants to seize power so he can give it back to the people. He calls himself the “Champion of the Constitution.” He wants to abolish the Federal Reserve, the Department of Education, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Internal Revenue Service. He is anti-abortion, typical of a conservative candidate, but is also for legalization of medical marijuana.

Biterman says that Paul’s “bandwagon” issue among young voters is the war. Paul is the only Republican candidate who advocates pulling our troops out of Iraq immediately.

“Ron Paul has tapped into the base of the country that is totally disgruntled with this country’s foreign policy,” Biterman says. “I’m someone who understands [libertarianism], but people are jumping on board because of the war. We’re glad to have them, though, because perhaps they’ll look into the issues further and agree with us not only about Iraq.”

Paul is a long shot to win. In RealClearPolitics national polls, Paul stands in sixth place at 4.7 percent.  

“We face some strong odds,” says 31-year-old Jesse Benton, Ron Paul’s Communications Director. “It’s critically important that the youth vote turn out.”

Biterman is more blunt. “Do I think he’ll be the Republican nominee? Probably not,” he admits.

But not all Paul supporters are so pessimistic.

“All people need to do is hear the message,” says 20-year-old campaign volunteer Jay Bui. “I think there’s going to be a real movement, and this is just the beginning of it.

“Ron Paul is the Jimmy Stewart, Mr. Smith, of our generation.”

A Jimmy Stewart, Mr. Smith, who also happens to be a great-grandfather.