Los Angeles Times

Longshot Democrats target 'unwinnable' seats in California

This is no suburban, coast-hugging battleground. This is Yucca Valley, the part of California where it's easier to get a signal for the local Christian radio station than for NPR, and the tallest structures for miles are wind turbines that tower over the desert.

This landlocked slice of southeastern California is home to three-term GOP incumbent Paul Cook and has been represented by a string of Republicans for decades.

Marge Doyle thinks she has a shot at changing that this year, and she's not alone. As national Democrats play up talk of a wave that could help them regain control of the House, Doyle is one of more than a dozen Democrats attempting to unseat GOP incumbents in California districts long considered unwinnable. It's a bold move in a year when skeptics may soon accuse them of sapping resources Democrats need elsewhere.

In Cook's 8th Congressional District, Doyle has raised six-figure sums in the largely rural district that includes Mammoth Lakes, Death Valley and

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