If Bernie Sanders can pull off an upset in California, it will be a story that got its start on Hollywood Boulevard. In a building that saw the likes of film stars and movie moguls and later was damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake, Sanders’ newly-leased los Angeles headquarters is where his campaign will ultimately go big or go home.
Steering the effort is Michael Ceraso, a rangy, goateed 34-year-old who, seven months ago, was working as a deputy program 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 Senator’s full- house rallies.
With time growing short in the primary season, California’s June 7 contest could be a decisive showdown.
Sanders told cheering supporters in a los Angeles theater in March that if he wins delegate-rich California by a significant margin “we are going together to the White House.”