Politics & Government

Sen. Daylin Leach Announces Run for Congress

The Democratic state senator for much of the Main Line will pursue Rep. Allyson Schwartz's seat.

Sen. Daylin Leach (D-Montgomery, Delaware) announced Tuesday morning he will run in 2014 for the U.S. House of Representatives.

Leach will run in Pennsylvania's 13th District, currently represented by fellow Democrat and expected gubernatorial candidate Rep. Allyson Schwartz.

Leach was a state representative from 2003 to 2009, and last November he won a second four-year term in the state senate, where his constituencies include residents of Lower Merion, Haverford and Radnor townships.

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He has become a more prominent Democratic figure through pushes to legalize marijuana and gay marriage in Pennsylvania, as well as through his opposition to voter-ID requirements.

In a letter on his website Tuesday, Leach said he is running for Congress for two reasons:

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First, as a young boy I watched the American civil rights struggle unfold on each evening’s newscast. As a Jewish American, I also learned about the tragic history of my own people. These experiences taught me how hurtful and dangerous it is when any group of people is dehumanized. From a very young age I knew I wanted to dedicate my life to fighting injustice and discrimination in some way.

Second, I learned from my childhood that sometimes people need help, and I was profoundly grateful for the help we received. My family was able to survive because of the public assistance that was available to us: my health insurance was Medicaid, my school lunches were subsidized, and college was only possible because of Pell Grants and guaranteed student loans. And along the way, great public school teachers mentored me and kept me on track and out of trouble.

I was only able to succeed because my community invested in me. As a result, I knew that I wanted to do all I could with whatever talents I had to do my part to pay back what was given to me so that other children in foster care could have the chance to go to law school.

The Main Line Times reported Leach's Upper Merion home is just outside District 13 but that he is permitted to seek election there anyway. The congressional district does not include his Main Line constituencies of state senate District 17.

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