Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul hits the Golden State starting Tuesday for a 3-day barnstorm that will include university town hall meetings in Chico, Los Angeles and Berkeley — as well as some campaign fundraising.

Paul’s visit comes in the week in which political observers will be weighing the results of Tuesday’s primaries in Wisconsin, District of Colombia and Maryland — particularly with regard to the high stakes for former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who has amassed a number of high profile endorsements in recent weeks.

But the Texas Congressman has recently given the message that he intends to keep on marching — and raising hell — with his 2012 presidential campaign.

In California, unlike Romney and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, who both were in the state last week, Paul’s events are town hall meetings — free and actually open to the public.

What’s more (and we give points for this), he’s actually scheduling meetings with the media, his campaign says.

As our comrade Joe Garofoli has already reported, Paul will also be starring at a $350 a head ($250 for students/military) lunchtime fundraiser at the Union Square Marriott in San Francisco Thursday. Details here.

Meanwhile, here’s the California campaign schedule for the 12-term congressman this week:

*Tuesday, April 3: Cal State University, Chico. He’ll hold a 7 p.m. town hall meeting at the Bell Memorial Student Union at Trinity Commons on the campus. To RSVP, check here.

*Wednesday, April 4: University of California, Los Angeles. 8:30 p.m. town hall meeting, Sunset Canyon Recreation Center, Lower Lawn Amphitheater, 111 Easton Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90095

*Thursday, April 5: University of California, Berkeley. 7 p.m., Zellerbach Auditorium, Berkeley, CA. To RSVP and get early seating, check in here.

The Paul campaign says the town hall meetings in California have been organized by “‘Youth for Ron Paul,” launched in September 2011, which has organized “591 chapters and recruited more than 53,600 people.”

From the campaign’s Edward King, national youth director of the Ron Paul 2012 effort: “Ron Paul’s message of individual liberty, prosperity, and peace resonates with California students and voters. In California, almost 60 Youth for Ron Paul chapters are recruiting new supporters for the campaign each day, more than in any other state. That’s why we’re excited for Ron Paul’s upcoming visits to Cal State – Chico, UCLA, and UC – Berkeley. He will continue to inspire this new generation of voters and bring them into the political process, which is vital to defeating President Obama and revitalizing the Republican Party. No other GOP candidate offers that possibility.”

We’ll have more on the candidate’s visit. Stay tuned.