San Francisco Republicans reaching out to voters in overwhelmingly Democratic Bay Area districts may sound like a losing strategy for GOP presidential candidates. But supporters of White House hopeful Ron Paul say they know better.

They're taking advantage of a rule change in February's California GOP primary under which the previous "winner-take-all" system has been replaced by one that awards three primary delegates for every congressional district a candidate wins -- no matter how many or how few Republicans live there.

"Our primary purpose is to help Ron Paul to get delegate votes in the primary," said Paul supporter Stephanie Burns. "That's what we're all about here in San Francisco."

Democratic strongholds in Berkeley, Santa Cruz and Oakland may be fertile ground for second-tier Republican candidates who can't compete with rivals' money and organization in traditionally conservative enclaves like San Diego or Orange County.

In San Francisco, for example, volunteers need to reach only a couple thousand Republicans to win the district and pick up three delegate votes.

"If you can get three delegates out of Maxine Waters' district and three out of Nancy Pelosi's district and three out of Berkeley and Santa Cruz, it counts as much as if you get them from somewhere else," said Republican political consultant Dan Schnur.

"It does make it harder on the candidates because if you think about it, they have to spend time and they have to come all the way out to the West Coast, which is a big trip. When they are on the East Coast they can hit a couple of states in one day, in California, they have to hit a couple of spots in one day. They have to spend money," said Thomas Del Beccaro of the California Republican Party.

California Republicans aren't the only ones making candidates earn votes one district at a time. Several states, including Paul's home of Texas, use proportional allocation rather than a winner-take-all approach if no candidate wins a majority vote.

Frontrunners like Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney have the recognition as well as the cash on hand to spend, and that, insiders say, will ultimately trump any grassroots efforts by second-tier candidates.

"A smaller candidate could certainly pick some delegates in a particular county but by and large politics is time and infrastructure and commitment to the area so the larger candidates have the benefit," Del Beccaro said.

Often overlooked, however, is that Paul, who polled 3 percent in the latest FOX News-Opinion Dynamics poll, has earned more than $18 million in the last three months. He has the cash to build his organization and expand from a grassroots operation. It remains to be seen whether he has the time left and the message to win over Republican base voters who go to the primary polls.

The presidential hopeful who wins the most districts in California gets a bonus of 11 additional votes, and while poll watchers say the frontrunners still have an enormous advantage, they add they won't be surprised if Paul steals a little of their thunder.

In the end, the real winners in California may be conservative voters in liberal enclaves who are regularly ignored by their own party. They are now on the "to do" list of presidential contenders who can't afford to ignore any area if they want to win February's biggest primary prize.

FOX News' Anita Vogel and Lindsay Stewart contributed to this report.