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ByMichaelR.Blood TheAssociatedPress LOS ANGELES If Bernie Sanders can pull off an up- set in California, it will be a storythatgotitsstartonHol- lywood Boulevard. In a building that saw the likes of film stars and movie moguls and later was dam- aged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake, Sanders' newly leased Los Angeles head- quarters is where his cam- paign will ultimately go big or go home. Steering the ef- fort is Michael Ceraso, a rangy, goateed 34-year-old who, seven months ago, was working as a deputy pro- gram director for Airbnb. He'd never run a statewide campaign. Sanders is trailing in state polls but "what gives us an advantage is people power," said Ceraso, alluding to the fervent crowds of 20- and 30-somethings at the sena- tor's full-house rallies. With time growing short in the primary season, Cali- fornia's June 7 contest could be a decisive showdown. Sanders told cheering sup- porters in a Los Angeles the- ater in March that if he wins delegate-rich California by a significant margin "we are going together to the White House." But to make that happen, Ceraso and his team will have to take on the Clinton political powerhouse. After helping to guide Sanders to victory in New Hampshire, Ceraso says he's not intimidated by Hillary Clinton's team, which has won elections here before and has deep political ties that date back a generation to her husband Bill Clinton's administration. Ceraso broke into presi- dentialpoliticsin2008when he joined then-Sen. Barack Obama's presidential cam- paign, and last year man- aged a successful campaign for a local school board. His Twitter feed, a blur of posts aboutthecampaignandtrib- utes to basketball star Kobe Bryant, urges followers to "Stay Frosty Folks" — slang for "keep cool." Clinton comes to the race a tested winner. In 2008, when Democrats around the country were embrac- ing Obama, the former First Lady notched an 8-point win in California. Bill Clin- ton locked in the 1992 Dem- ocratic presidential nomina- tion in the state, which he carried in his two presiden- tial contests. He visited Cal- ifornia more than 70 times duringhistwotermsaspres- ident. This weekend, Hillary Clinton is expected in the Los Angeles area for a fun- draiser with actor George Clooney. Sanders, meanwhile, was barely recognized by voters a year ago but has since nar- rowed the gap. An indepen- dent Field Poll released this month found Clinton with a 6-point lead over Sanders, with 12 percent of voters still undecided. Rep. Xavier Becerra, a Clintonsupporterwhoheads the House Democratic Cau- cus, says Clinton's familiar- ity with state voters will be a critical factor on Election Day. "She's walked with us, and that means a lot," said Becerra. In California "they know her." With the primary about seven weeks away, the two candidates are quietly in- stalling the nuts-and-bolts infrastructure for their cam- paigns, shopping for office space, hiring staff and orga- nizing volunteers. Ceraso, who started with Sanders as a deputy direc- tor in New Hampshire and grew up in the Los Ange- les suburbs, has been on the ground in California about two weeks. Unlikeinnextweek'sNew York primary, which is lim- itedtoregisteredpartymem- bers,California'sDemocratic primary is open to indepen- dents. As in past primaries, Clinton is expected to do well with older Democrats, Hispanics and black voters, whileSanderscouldperform better with younger voters and independents. A spike in registration amongyoungervotersmight be an encouraging sign for Sanders.AnanalysisbyPolit- ical Data Inc. found that reg- istrationamongCalifornians between 18 and 24 years old was up 72 percent in the year-to-date, compared to the same period in 2012. POLITICS SandersgoesHollywood: Aiming for California upset RICHARDDREW—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders. I-Vt., addresses the 25th annual National Action Network convention in New York. TIRES•WHEELS•BRAKES•ALIGNMENT•A/C•AUTOREPAIR•&ANDMORE Roundup some deals at! Save $ 100 on all B&W hitches this week. REDBLUFF 614 WALNUT ST. 530-529-1612 CORNING 1723 SOLANO ST. 530-824-4929 SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 2016 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM |NEWS | 3 A