Kevin de Leon's plan to take on Dianne Feinstein starts with finishing second

ROSEVILLE, Calif. - As the leader of the California Senate, Kevin de Leon negotiated the fine points of a landmark effort on climate change. He helped balance the state budget. He wrote the California immigration law that's drawn the ire of President Donald Trump.

But Democratic voters who applaud those efforts don't necessarily know that he was the one behind them. They may like the song on the radio, in a sense, but they don't know the singer.

"It's been a challenge," De Leon said. "But once people make the connection with me, they say: 'It's time for a change. I'm with you.'"

That change would be historic, not seen in the last half-century of California politics: a candidate taking on and beating a U.S. senator from the same party.

The incumbent, Dianne Feinstein, has served since 1992. Few politicians in the state have her level of name recognition among voters and certainly