Former Rep. Marjorie Margolies, D-Pa., has picked up the endorsement of the No. 2 House Democrat for her comeback bid in Pennsylvania’s 13th District.

On Monday, House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer endorsed Margolies, who served with Hoyer in the House for one term. The Maryland Democrat described Margolies as “one of the most hard-working and courageous individuals I ever served with in Congress” in a statement from her campaign.

In 1993, Margolies cast the 218th vote to pass then-President Bill Clinton’s deficit reduction plan. Her vote ultimately cost Margolies re-election the next year.

This cycle, Margolies will attempt to return to Congress. She faces a crowded primary against four other Democrats: state Reps. Brendan Boyle and Mark Cohen, state Sen. Daylin Leach and Valerie Arkoosh, a medical professor at the University of Pennsylvania. The 13th District is open because Rep. Allyson Y. Schwartz, D-Pa., is running for governor.

The 13th District, which includes the northeast portion of Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs, is a safe Democratic seat. President Barack Obama carried the district with 66 percent in 2012.

Endorsements from top Democrats will help candidates in the crowded primary, especially with fundraising. In addition to Hoyer, Democrats also expect Margolies will have support from Clinton. (Her son is married to Chelsea Clinton.)

This is not Margolies’ first attempt at a political comeback. In 1998, she ran an unsuccessful campaign for lieutenant governor. Two years later, she ran in a Democratic Senate primary, but withdrew due to family concerns and legal issues surrounding her then-husband Edward Mezvinsky, a former congressman from Iowa. The couple divorced in 2007.