Palo Alto City Council member Greg Tanaka has joined the crowded race to succeed U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, who is set to leave Congress next year after three decades of representing Silicon Valley in Washington, D.C.

According to the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, he is one of 13 candidates who is vying for the seat and one of three who is either currently serving or has previously served on the Palo Alto council. Candidates had until Dec. 13 to file their candidacy papers.

His current council colleague, Julie Lythcott-Haims, had previously announced that she is running. Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian, the first candidate to announce his candidacy, had served as a Palo Alto council member and mayor before moving on to elected positions at the county and state levels.

Tanaka, a fiscal conservative who unsuccessfully ran for Congress two years ago, is one of nine Democrats in the field, along with Simitian, Lythcott-Haims, former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, state Assembly member Evan Low, former Saratoga City Council member Rishi Kumar, researcher Joby Bernstein, attorney Ahmed Mostafa and tech CEO Peter Dixon.

Two Republicans — former Menlo Park Mayor Peter Ohtaki and Los Gatos resident Karl Ryan — are running to succeed Eshoo. So are two candidates with no party affiliations: Richard Fox and Gabriel Warshauer-Baker.

The district covers the Midpeninsula and portions of South Bay and includes Palo Alto, Mountain View, Menlo Park, Portola Valley, Atherton, Woodside, Los Altos and portions of San Jose.