Boyle beats Margolies, rest of crowd for Democratic nomination

Youth, a grass-roots campaign and lots of union backing triumphed last night in the Democratic primary in Pennsylvania’s 13th Congressional District. 

State Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Philadelphia) who is just 37 said he brought a young campaign organization that worked hard for a victory in the district covering parts of Montgomery County and Philadelphia.

“Thanks to you and thanks to the voters of the lucky 13th, this proud son of Philadelphia is going to congress,” he told a cheering crowd.

Boyle said when he entered the crowded race, his pollster told him he was an underdog.

“The good news is in a four person race you are in second, the bad news is you are 32 points behind the person who is in first,” he recalled.

It was a four-person race, but Boyle won handily, with Marjorie Margolies coming in a distant second place, even though she held this seat two decades ago.

She lost despite having the benefit of Bill and Hilary Clinton campaigning and raising money for her. 

In a speech to her supporters in Jenkintown Tuesday night, Margolies said it is crucial that women keep running for public office.

“I want to let all of you know how important it is to make sure that women get to the table. I mean, when we are not there we’re on the menu,” she said.

State Sen. Daylin Leach and Dr. Valerie Arkoosh were the other two candidates, but it appears they and Margolies split the suburban vote in the district, making it easier for Boyle to win by racking up votes in Philadelphia.

Boyle will face Republican businessman Dee Adcock in the fall. The seat is considered safely in the Democrats’ column, so Boyle is already talking about winning in November and going to Washington.

This district is now represented by Allyson Schwartz, but she chose not to run for re-election so she could make a bid for governor.  In that Democratic primary, Tom Wolf soundly beat Schwartz.

Additional reporting by Holly Otterbein