By BEN GOAD

Washington Bureau

California primary voters will play a big role in picking the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates this year after more than three decades of casting ballots in contests that were already decided.

California is among about two dozen states holding their contests Feb. 5, a day dubbed "Tsunami Tuesday," "Super Duper Tuesday," and even "The Tuesday of Destiny."

With Iowa and New Hampshire voters picking different candidates in both the Democratic and Republican races, the stage is now set for a fierce battle on a day being described as a national primary.

California has by far the most delegates to win or lose -- 441 for the Democratic candidates, 173 for Republicans -- giving candidates further incentive to woo the state's voters.

The state's decision to move the primary up to February to give voters a larger say seems to have paid off.

"There's going to be a fistfight out there -- it's such a valuable prize," Georgetown University adjunct political professor Christopher C. Hull said. "California is going to play a larger role than it has for 35 years. That's a given."

Already this week, Riverside and San Bernardino counties are seeing a flurry of grassroots campaign activity.

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama's campaign is holding a rally in Riverside on Sunday to coincide with the opening of a new office on Market Street. A similar event is scheduled in San Bernardino, where an Obama campaign office is opening on Court Street.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's supporters are holding the latest in a series of "meet-ups" in Menifee on Tuesday.

And Rudy Giuliani, the former New York Mayor, has opened eight new phone banks in Inland Southern California.

The campaigns wouldn't reveal their strategies for buying ads in California and wouldn't say whether the candidates plan to make appearances in the Inland area. But pundits and partisans agree that contenders will have to spend serious money and time to win the state.

"Candidates have to come to places like Riverside County," California Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring said. "They have to talk to people there."

Too Close to Call

Last month's Field Poll surveys of likely California voters showed the Democratic and Republican races tightening, with Obama creeping closer to Sen. Hillary Clinton and Huckabee edging toward Giuliani. And with Obama and Clinton splitting the first two contests on the Democratic side and Giuliani -- at one point the presumed GOP frontrunner -- effectively sitting them out, California remains very much undecided.

That's good news to Inland voters, many who have grown frustrated -- or even apathetic -- after years of casting meaningless votes. The 2004 Democratic primary, for instance, was held in March, long after it had become clear that Sen. John Kerry would win his party's nomination.

"It's a great thing that it's earlier," said Peter Stein, 73, who lives in an unincorporated part of Riverside County near Beaumont.

Barbara Fanning, a registered Republican from Redlands, said she still hasn't decided on a candidate. She said she is looking forward to the increased exposure to candidates.

With so much at stake, candidates will have to decide whether to invest the time and money necessary to make a serious push.

"It's a big share of the delegates," said Bruce Cain, director of the University of California Washington Center. "You can't just put your toe in when it comes to California."

Obama organizer Linnie Frank Bailey said the campaign is expecting a statewide boost this weekend with the opening of campaign offices around the state, including the Inland pair.

Clinton spokesman Luis Vizcaino said the senator isn't satisfied with the December Field Poll, which placed her ahead despite an advance from Obama and an increased number of undecided voters. Vizcaino touted Clinton's infrastructure of hundreds of volunteer organizers who he said have made 400,000 phone calls seeking support since May.

"She's always been focused on California," Vizcaino said. "We're not taking anything for granted, we're running as if we're 20 points behind."

California Republicans will award delegates to candidates on a district-by-district, winner-take-all basis. Each congressional district gives all three of its delegates to the candidate who gets the most votes, leaving no reward for second-place finishers. An additional 11 votes will go to the candidate who carries the most districts.

"It encourages candidates to reach into every part of the state... rather than just run some ads in LA and the Bay Area," said the GOP's Nehring.

But it also could allow candidates to take a more surgical approach to campaigning in the state.

Simon, Giuliani's state chairman, said the campaign is conducting its own polls and is employing a "micro-targeting" strategy to focus its resources.

"The Inland Empire is important and it's a ripe area for the mayor because it's (an area of) pro-growth economics," Simon said. "I wouldn't be surprised if he spent some time there."

Absentee Voters

Another difference this year is the importance of absentee voters.

Nearly 4.3 million Californians are designated as permanent absentee voters, those who automatically receive early ballots for the primaries, according to The Target Book, which evaluates political races.

While they make up less than a third of the 15.5 million registered voters in the state, those who have signed up to receive permanent absentee ballots are considered more reliable voters. And they can begin casting ballots this week.

Seizing on an opportunity to capture some of those early voters, who are roughly half Republicans and half Democrats, Clinton's campaign held a rally in Sacramento on Monday and, the same day, Giuliani California Chairman Bill Simon released a statement geared toward drumming up absentee support.

The early voting would appear to hurt Huckabee, who has no official campaign structure in California yet and is relying solely on grassroots organizers -- a group called Huck's Army -- who aren't officially affiliated with the campaign.

Republicans and Democrats also have different rules on who can vote in their primaries.

Only registered Republicans may vote in the California Republican primary. But the state's 3 million independent voters -- those registered as Declined to State -- are allowed to vote in the Democratic primary.

The rules are likely to help Obama, who received large numbers of independent votes in his Iowa win, and hurt Ariz. Sen. John McCain, who was helped to victory in New Hampshire's Republican primary by independent voters.

McCain's campaign did not return phone calls seeking comment for this story.

Reach Ben Goad at 202-661-8422
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