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Meet the cycle’s biggest candidate disappointments.  

They are the congressional hopefuls who just didn't live up to their hype. Once touted as top recruits, these House and Senate candidates are headed for defeat on Election Day in all likelihood. Some of these candidates tanked so early in the cycle, their races never got off the ground.  

Updated 12:01 a.m. |  State Rep. Brendan Boyle easily defeated three other Democrats Tuesday night, including former Rep. Marjorie Margolies, to win an open-seat primary in Pennsylvania’s 13th District.  

Boyle defeated Margolies, his next closest primary opponent, 41 percent to 27 percent, with 98 percent of precincts reporting, according to The Associated Press. The Democratic primary is tantamount to the general election in this district, which President Barack Obama carried with 66 percent in 2012. Margolies started the race as the odds-on favorite  to succeed Rep. Allyson Y. Schwartz, who ran for governor. Margolies’ name was still familiar to voters in the district thanks to her one term in Congress in the early 1990s, and she had ties to the Clinton dynasty as former first daughter Chelsea Clinton’s mother-in-law — making her appear to be a near lock for the nomination.  

Welcome to the third edition of Roll Call’s feature that highlights the most interesting political ads of the week.  

Here is what cut through the clutter:  

Former Rep. Marjorie Margolies' latest ad in her comeback bid in Pennsylvania features former President Bill Clinton touting her accomplishments on camera, a potentially game-changing spot less than one week from the Keystone State's primary.  

"I'm not coming here saying vote for her because 20 years ago she saved the economy," Clinton says of Margolies in the 30-second ad, referring to her vote in 1993 that saved Clinton's budget and ultimately cost the Democrat her seat in Congress. "She'll take initiative, she'll do things and stand up when she needs to stand up and cooperate when we need cooperation."  

Less than one year ago, Margolies’ commanding lead in the polls , familiarity with voters thanks to her one term in Congress in the early 1990s, and her ties to the Clinton dynasty as Chelsea Clinton’s mother-in-law made her a seemingly untouchable foe . Yet Democratic operatives say Margolies has run an astonishingly poor campaign in the 13th District, an open seat thanks to Rep. Allyson Y. Schwartz's gubernatorial bid in the Keystone State.  

That has shifted the focus from Margolies, 71, to state Rep. Brendan Boyle, 37. As he gains traction , the other Democrats in the race have stepped up to paint him as anti-abortion because he voted for a state law that required stricter regulations and inspections of abortion clinics. But Boyle, who  supports abortion rights, says his record has been twisted.  

Update 9:45 a.m. | Democrat Val Arkoosh loaned her Pennsylvania congressional campaign $700,000 with weeks to go in a competitive primary, according to her pre-primary report filed Thursday with the Federal Election Commission.  

Between April 1 and April 30, the physician, one of four Democrats seeking an open Philadelphia-area House seat, brought in $773,000 — including the sizeable personal loan — and reported $430,000 in cash on hand for the final days before the May 20 primary.  

State Sen. Daylin Leach, one of four Democrats running for an open Philadelphia-based House seat, takes shots at all three of his opponents in his latest TV ad, which was obtained by CQ Roll Call.  

Leach, along with former Rep. Marjorie Margolies, state Rep. Brendan Boyle and physician Val Arkoosh, are all vying for the Democratic nomination in Pennsylvania's 13th District.  

Updated 10:26 a.m. | Pennsylvania state Sen. Daylin Leach and state Rep. Brendan Boyle, two of the four Democrats vying for a Philadelphia-area House seat, launched the first TV ads of the race on Tuesday — one month out from the hotly contested primary .  

Both ads highlight the candidates' working-class upbringings, which they say is their motivation for public service.  

Sen. Bernard Sanders, I-Vt., one of the Senate's most liberal members, has endorsed state Sen. Daylin Leach — one of four Democrats running in the primary for Pennsylvania's 13th District .  

Sanders joins a crowd of liberal Democrats in Congress who are backing Leach, including the Progressive Caucus Co-Chairs, Reps. Raul M. Grijalva of Arizona and Keith Ellison of Minnesota, plus Alan Grayson of Florida.  

The House isn't very popular these days, so why would anyone want to return there after a 20-year hiatus? The answer — if there is one — is just one reason why the crowded primary for this suburban Philadelphia, strong Democratic district is so fascinating.

Former Rep. Marjorie Margolies, D-Pa., is waging a comeback bid for the 13th District nearly tw0 decades after she supported President Bill Clinton's budget and famously lost re-election in 1994. The 71-year-old is back with a vengeance and strong political connections: Her son is married to Chelsea Clinton. Her primary opposition only makes this open-seat race to succeed Rep. Allyson Y. Schwartz, D-Pa., who is running for governor, more interesting. There's state Sen. Daylin Leach, a liberal lion who supports marijuana legalization, state Rep. Brendan Boyle, who boasts support from Rep. Bob Brady, D-Pa., and University of Pennsylvania medical professor Valerie Arkoosh, a Schwartz ally.