Kit Bobko, a two-term Hermosa Beach city councilman, declared his candidacy on Sunday. He joins Republicans Mike Webb and Mike Gin, who are both elected officials in neighboring Redondo Beach.
In his announcement, Bobko said he wants to take on "establishment politicians who think we can borrow and spend our way to growth."
The coastal 36th Congressional District, which stretches from Venice south to San Pedro, was drawn to heavily favor Democrats, who outnumber Republicans in the district by a 2-to-1 margin.
Several Democrats have already said they would run in the special election that Gov. Jerry Brown has yet to declare after Harman resigned Feb. 28 to lead a Washington think tank.
Most prominent among Democratic candidates are Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn of San Pedro and California Secretary of State Debra Bowen of Marina del Rey.
Anti-war activist and high school teacher Marcy Winograd, the Santa Monica resident who took 41 percent of the vote against Harman in last June's primary, is also running.
Bobko, a graduate from the U.S. Air Force Academy, said he is a "well-known fiscal conservative" and was talking about issues such as pension reform "before it was capturing headlines."
On Friday, former 36th Congressional District Rep. Steve Kuykendall, a Republican who held the seat from 1999-2001 after Harman left Congress to run for governor, said he would not run in the race.
Harman recaptured the seat from Kuykendall in a close-run election, 48.4 percent to 46.6 percent.
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