Daylin Leach Running for U.S. Congress

Pennsylvania State Senator Daylin Leach announced Tuesday that he will seek election to U.S. Congress in the 13^th Congressional District in 2014, hoping to succeed Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D).

Schwartz has announced her own intention to challenge incumbent Tom Corbett for Governor of Pennsylvania in 2014.

Leach, calling himself the “Liberal Lion of Pennsylvania” in a YouTube video announcing his candidacy, represents Norristown, Upper Merion, Conshohocken, and much of the Main Line area in the State Legislature. He said he is running for Congress to end injustice and discrimination, based on his experiences as a Jewish American and watching the civil rights struggle as a child, according to a letter on his website.

Also, Leach learned from his childhood that “sometimes people need help.” According to Leach, he was only able to succeed because “the community invested in me”  - and he wants to give back.

Leach has fought for legalizing marijuana and gay marriage, and has been outspoken in his opposition to new voter identification requirements.

“We used to do big things in America, and we stopped doing big things, in a sense,” Leach said in the video. “We need to take that energy again and start investing in people, education, infrastructure – that is what’s going to get the economy moving.”

Leach served as a state representative from 2003 to 2009, before running for state senate to replace retiring senator Connie Williams.  Leach currently represents portions of Lower Merion and Delaware County.

Leach will run to represent a large portion of Northeast Philadelphia, as well as the eastern part of Montgomery County, Norristown, and Lansdale. For a full map, click here. 

While Leach now lives on the Main Line, he was raised in Northeast Philadelphia by a single mother who had to put him in foster home at times, out of necessity.

“Northeast Philadelphia raised me,” Leach said in the video.

While Leach lives outside of the 13^th Congressional District, U.S. Election code does not prevent him from running for the office.