Search
Close this search box.

PA-13 Game Changer: Margolies Floats Bid for Schwartz Seat

Marjorie Margolies-MezvinskyFormer Congresswoman Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky said she may take a run at her old seat now that Rep. Allyson Schwartz is eying the Governor’s mansion. She’s well connected, and her in-laws are Bill and Hillary Clinton.

KYW Newsradio broke the story Tuesday.

“It is premature, because we have a Congressperson in office now, but it is true that I am talking about it with party leaders and family members,” Margolies-Mezvinsky told Larry Kane.

Update: Margolies echoed the sentiment to PoliticsPA.

“It’s too early to have even a legitimate discussion,” she said.

She served in Congress from 1993 to 1995 when the 13th was a swing district. Observers attribute her loss to her deciding vote on President Bill Clinton’s 1993 budget and support for Clinton’s health care proposal.

In case that wouldn’t be enough to win the former President’s support, she has a more personal appeal: her son Marc married Chelsea Clinton in 2010.

“She has received the blessing of major Democratic Party leaders, and is being encouraged by President Bill Clinton,” KYW reports.

A Clinton fundraising push and appearance in a few television ads could be enough to win her the nomination in the now safely Democratic 13th district.

Margolies, 70, remained a major figure in Democratic politics even after her defeat, including a 1998 run for Lt. Governor. She married former Iowa Congressman Edward Mezvinsky and the two raised 11 children.

No surprise that she so deftly orchestrated a buzz-building story: prior to her election she was a broadcast journalists for several Philadelphia stations. Presently she teaches at U Penn’s Fels Institute of Government. One of her current courses, “explores the role of media in politics and discusses strategies for using media resources for greatest effect.”

She is the President and founder of Women’s Campaign International, a non-partisan group that seeks to educate women in developing countries and bring them into leadership roles in civil society.

Physician Valerie Arkoosh, state Rep. Brendan Boyle, state Sen. Daylin Leach and former Philly City Controller Jonathan Saidel have filed to run for the Montgomery County/Philadelphia seat. A number of other Democrats are considering bids.

15 Responses

  1. One- Joe Gale is no longer then Montgomery County Young Republicans Chairman. Two- No one in the PA GOP or elsewhere has approached him for that seat, or for any seat for that matter. Three- The GOP has pretty much conceded PA-13 as a Dem seat, and don’t expect to be competitive there for awhile. Four- You must either be Gale himself posting under a fake name or a friend, because this rumor is useless. Five- I am a PA GOP member posting under a fake name, so there you go.

  2. I heard the GOP is swapping out Gale for Ed Mezvinsky. Together, that family has lost more than they have won. I mean elections, not money or time on the outside.

  3. I think Boyle is the best candidate,
    This is a dem seat the only chance the Rs have is if leach wins. he is crazy enough to scare moderates, and I mean crazy not liberal. Say what you want about Schwartz but she is competnent and worked well with the local GOP members. it is funny it seems ger and Fitzpatrick worked together more than her and Murphy.

    I like Boyle, go with the rising star who can appeal to western pa in the future. then if corbett somehow wins he runs in 2018 and his brother takes the seat

  4. Vicky- All I know is that the State Party believes Joe Gale would help motivate Republican voters and generate the excitement necessary to improve their numbers in Democratic territory. We all know the GOP is aware that this seat is a lost cause… but no one would self-fund a race this one-sided. If the Republicans improve their performance in SEPA, they have a better chance of maintaining the Governor’s seat. Corbett’s election results in NE Philly and Eastern Mont Co will definitely impact his chances of getting re elected… especially if Schwartz ends up being the challenger.

  5. Jen – Joe Gale? Honestly? You must know very little about SEPA and Montco if you think that PAGOP, Montco GOP or anyone in SEPA would support that. It is a Democratic seat that only a self funding Republican should even bother running in. Montco needs to worry about winning back its county seats and help Meehan and Fitz stay in office and not worry about trying to win the 13th. As Republicans we should be trying to make sure the D’s pick a common sense, moderate Republican to support the Bipartisan work Meehan and Brady have been able to accomplish (dredging the port & saving refineries). Throwing money at a seat we can’t win is a waste of valuable resources.

  6. I can’t wait to see if the Apprentice, Raj Bakta, comes back to have his backside beat again!

    Seriously, Margolies-Mezvinsky coming in to split the vote with Arkoosh and Leach gives the Philly guys a better chance, which is good because they are both solid labor and economics voters.

  7. This seems like a good idea to me from a political standpoint. Holds the seat with minimal fuss with a reliable Democrat in the twilight of her career. Keeps anyone else from that region from emerging while the Democrats build Montco into a dynasty. Shrewd.

  8. Love this. Bill Clinton in particular owes her. She fell on her sword and gave him the vote he needed to pass his economic stimulus package by a one vote margin in the House . . . knowing she would probably lose her seat to an R in the next election cycle. (If you don’t know this story check out “The People and the Power Game” with Hedrick Smith on PBS.) And then there is, of course, that in-law thing!

  9. I heard PA GOP Leaders approached Montgomery County Young Republican leader, Joe Gale about considering a run for the 13th congressional district. They believe he would attract enough media attention to help boost election results for the GOP slate in the South East.

Email:
  • Do you agree that ByteDance should be forced to divest TikTok?


    • Yes. It's a national security risk. (60%)
    • No. It's an app used by millions and poses no threat. (40%)
    • What's ByteDance? (0%)

    Total Voters: 30

    Loading ... Loading ...
Continue to Browser

PoliticsPA

To install tap and choose
Add to Home Screen