{"id":145216,"date":"2026-03-22T10:44:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T10:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/145216\/"},"modified":"2026-03-22T10:44:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T10:44:08","slug":"young-state-pa-representative-candidate-gives-peers-a-campaign-lesson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/145216\/","title":{"rendered":"Young state PA representative candidate gives peers a campaign lesson"},"content":{"rendered":"

From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know!<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

Leo Solga started his campaign for a seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to bring a youthful voice to Harrisburg. Now he\u2019s bringing in other young people to gain hands-on political experience with a campaign internship.\n<\/p>\n

The 22-year-old University of Pennsylvania graduate is running for the open seat in the 148th district of Pennsylvania, following the retirement of U.S. Rep. Mary Jo Daley, who had held the position since 2012. Along with Solga, Andrea Deutsch, Megan Griffin-Shelley and Jason Landau Goodman will be on the May 19 Democratic primary ballot.\n<\/p>\n

Solga said he wants to improve youth civic engagement and is running on a platform that includes regional rail funding, a guarantee for reproductive freedoms and supporting public schools.\n <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a secondary goal of the campaign, which is to get young people involved in politics,\u201d Solga said. \u201cTo show young people that they can run for office.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Solga started his campaign internship<\/a> to give young people the tools and experience they need for a potential future run for office, along with traditional campaign volunteer tasks, such as voter outreach and door knocking. Interns work five to seven hours a week and can receive academic credit for their work.\n<\/p>\n

While there are resources to help younger candidates to prepare for a campaign, according to Solga, there are some \u201ckey components\u201d missing. He said that hands-on experience in a state-level campaign can be \u201cinstrumental\u201d training for future races.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want to just have interns only understand part of the campaign,\u201d Solga said. \u201cIdeally we want to diffuse knowledge.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Joining a political campaign<\/p>\n

Leah Kallen had no political experience before joining the Solga team as an intern in January.\n<\/p>\n

She saw the announcement for the opportunity on Linkedin and recognized Solga\u2019s name \u2014 the two had gone to middle school together, going on to graduate separately from Lower Merion and Harriton High School.\n<\/p>\n

The 21-year-old Amherst College student said it was a \u201cno brainer\u201d to reach out and ask if she can support the team. Even though she had never been a part of anything like a campaign before, Kallen thought \u201cnow more than ever\u201d was the time to get involved.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel really passionate about it and I want to just learn more about what it looks like to be helping out with something like this,\u201d Kallen said.\n<\/p>\n

As an intern, she drafts emails, verifies signatures on various petitions and helps cull through event photos. Even though these kinds of small tasks can seem insignificant, Kallen said they can add up to be noteworthy.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like every win, every small step towards bringing a win home for Pa. feels so rewarding for me,\u201d Kallen said.\n <\/p>\n