Kats hopes to garner Russian, Ukrainian and Polish votes in PA-13

ARDMORE-Republican Marina Kats knows she has a tough race against U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-Abington) in an increasingly Democratic 13th Congressional District. But there's one constituency the Russian immigrant is confident she can capture: the more than 100,000 voters of Russian, Ukrainian and Polish heritage who live in the northeast Philadelphia part of the largely suburban district.

"We're going to bring that base home to the Republican Party," Kats, who speaks fluent Russian and Ukrainian, told GOP faithful here at a rally for John McCain.

As she and others waited for the arrival of McCain supporters U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), Kats elaborated to PolitickerPA.com.

"I think they're going to come and support me because it's a matter of national pride; 95 percent of these people came here with the same story as me," she said.

She also thanked PolitickerPA.com for airing her recent frustrations with the lack of support her campaign had seen from local GOP party officials and activists, acknowledging that while she caught "a little flack" for her remarks, "they started moving after that article."