State Sen. Daylin Leach jumps into race for U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz's seat

State Sen. Daylin Leach just announced that he will be holding a conference call for reporters Tuesday to announce his candidacy for the seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz, who is expected to run in the 2014 Democratic primary election for governor.  Leach's announcement jumps the gun just a bit, since Schwartz has not formally announced that she is leaving Congress to run for governor.

"Incumbent Rep. Allyson Schwartz has announced she will not be seeking re-election to Congress," Leach's announcement reads.  Schwartz represents the 13th Congressional District, which includes parts of Philadelphia and Montgomery County (and Leach's state Senate district.)

Aren Platt, a spokesman for Leach, said he was relying on comments Schwartz has made in interviews with the Daily News, Inquirer and Politico.com about her likelihood to run for governor.  "We are putting the two together and saying she will not be running for Congress," Platt explained.

Several Democrats are thinking about running for Schwartz's seat.  Leach will be the first to formally declare his intention to run.  Leach was a member of the state House for five years when he won a seat in 2008 in the state Senate.

Schwartz is expected to launch a state-level political action committee for a gubernatorial run later this month.  Reesa Kossoff, a spokeswoman for Schwartz, said she will not run for Congress and for governor at the same time.