Kats acknowledges frustration in race against Schwartz

For weeks, GOP political watchers in Montgomery County have expressed quiet but increasing concern that Marina Kats did not have the political acumen to take on a powerful incumbent in Congress, and that the wealthy lawyer was being left to fend for herself by a Republican Party largely resigned to letting the candidate spend her own money in what seemed to be a losing effort.

For what it's worth, Kats, who is running against U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-Abington) in the 13th Congressional District, shares their concerns.

In a brief but candid interview Tuesday night, Kats acknowledged feeling somewhat overwhelmed, and said she was disappointed in the lack of guidance she has received from local GOP officials.

"When I got into this, I got into it because of purely idealistic reasons," Kats told PolitickerPA.com after performing a brief routing at Daily News columnist Stu Bykofsky's Candidates Comedy Night. "I wanted to help the country and to help the party."

But Kats, a millionaire attorney with no political experience, wondered why she was left to campaign on her own.

"I know how to operate in the business world," she said. "It's a little different in the political world."

"I'm surprised it became Marina Kats' race without more support from the party," Kats added.

Still, she maintained the race was "very winnable."

"If the Republican Party wants to win this race, I invite everyone to help out," she said.

Montgomery County GOP chairman Bob Kerns said he hadn't spoken with Kats about her concerns, but insisted that the party was behind her.

"The Republican Party supports all of its candidates," Kerns said. He called Kats a high-quality and energetic candidate, and said the party would help circulate campaign material, put workers on the street and assist in fundraising "as we do for all our candidates." He did say that with it being a congressional race, he hoped Kats would receive some party help from the national level.

"There's no difference or distinction between Marina and any of the other candidates we run," Kerns said.

Kats has put out mostly anemic fundraising numbers so far in the campaign. She raised only $87,000 in the second quarter, and had about $50,000 on hand at the close of the period. Schwartz raised almost half-a-million dollars during the same period, and finished with about $2.2 million on hand.

Even before the numbers were made public, they led to a campaign overhaul for Kats. And last month, she loaned her campaign almost $300,000.

Tuesday night, she said she did not expect to get that money back. It remains unclear how much of her own fortune she is prepared to spend.

Schwartz, for her part, has had little reason to actively campaign, with Kats' presence in the district going unnoticed by many. Schwartz has spent little of her vast war chest on any visible campaign efforts at a time when the county's registration trends continue to tilt in the Democrats' favor. Her official campaign kick-off is not until next month.