Another Congressional candidate in the mix in the 13th district

A Northeast Philadelphia businessman says he has filed nominating papers to join tha ballot for the 13th Congressional District, throwing his hat into a race against a strong Democratic incumbent and a Republican challenger who has so far struggled to gain traction.

John McDermott says he filed nominating papers last week containing the signatures of about 4,400 district voters, about 1,400 more than required to get on the ballot.

McDermott, a self-employed salesman of electric and natural gas power to commercial and inustrial companies, is joining the race as a Constitution Party candidate.

"Now the voters of this district can benefit from a real conservation on issues,” McDermott said in a release.

He is competing against U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-Abington) and millionaire attorney Marina Kats. As a longtime incumbent, Schwartz had done little active campaigning in a race her party expects her to win easily. Kats recently overhauled her campaign and could still make some noise if she decides to dip into her considerable fortune for campaign spending.

“Without my presence in the campaign, the race would be merely a war of money and name recognition and pure partisanship,” McDermott said.

The 13th District is mostly in Montgomery County, where both Schwartz and Kats live. McDermott, though, lives in the Fox Chase neighborhood of Northeast Philadelphia, which makes up only a small sliver of the district.