Former Rep. Anne Northup’s (R-Ky.) longtime campaign chairman confirmed Monday that the ex-Congresswoman will seek to reclaim the seat she lost to now-Rep. John Yarmuth (D) in 2006. Northup will make her formal announcement at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, the last day to file for office in Kentucky, at the secretary of state’s office, according to Ted Jackson, who is working to put Northup’s campaign team together again this cycle. Republicans suddenly lost their candidate in the 3rd district two weeks ago when Erwin Roberts, a former assistant U.S. attorney and a captain in the Army’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps, announced that he had been called up for a 12-month active tour of duty and would therefore not run for office. Yarmuth was favored to win a second term in the Louisville district, which leans Democratic in presidential elections. But Northup’s entry could make the race more competitive. Jackson said a recent poll sponsored by the National Republican Congressional Committee that showed Northup polling within the margin of error helped sell her on the race. Northup lost a bid for the Republican gubernatorial nomination last May. “The poll is very strong and very compelling,” Jackson said. Northup was “very, very encouraged by these early numbers against Yarmuth.” Jackson added that “there really is nobody else that could carry the banner and could step into this race at this late date and be more credible than Anne. … She believes in this, she believes in this district, she believes our party needs to be represented.” — John McArdle