Marjorie Margolies officially jumped into an already crowded congressional race on Thursday, in an effort to win back the seat she lost almost 20 years ago.
Margolies, a Fels Institute of Government instructor, filed election paperwork declaring her candidacy to represent Pennsylvania’s 13th district, which includes large parts of Montgomery County and Philadelphia. She won the seat in 1992, but was voted out in the Republican takeover of Congress in 1994 after casting the deciding vote for Bill Clinton’s controversial health care proposal.
Speculation began that she would run in early April, when she told The Daily Pennsylvanian that a run was “on the table,” but that it was “premature” to say for sure whether she’d throw her hat in the ring.
Joining Margolies in the competition for the Democratic nomination are state Sen. Daylin Leach, a liberal firebrand, state Rep. Brendan Boyle and Perelman School of Medicine professor and Democratic fundraiser Valerie Arkoosh.
While Leach’s campaign is already in full swing, the 70-year-old Margolies has the advantage of support from heavy hitters in the party, including Bill Clinton, whose daughter Chelsea is married to Margolies’ son. According to reports in April, Clinton was encouraging her to run.
The primary is still a year away, but the winner of the Democratic primary will likely go on to win the general election in November 2014.
