Goddard real estate agent Jamey Blubaugh filed on May 23 for the Republican primary for Senate District 26.
He is running against incumbent Sen. Dick Kelsey (R-Goddard).
“I have been waiting to announce my senate candidacy since February,” Blubaugh said. “As the decision for redistricting is out of the legislature’s hands and into the courts I feel as though there will be no political bias.”
Blubaugh said he believes Kelsey has become somewhat disconnected from local communities.
“I think I can do a better job than he can,” he said.
Blubaugh is a real estate agent with Keller Williams and a real estate investor. He has worked in real estate for 15 years.
Blubaugh said he believes he is well connected with the Derby community through his business. He said he has worked with Air Force personnel who were moving to Derby and sold several homes in the community.
“I feel like we are probably all working on the same mission,” he said.
While Blubaugh has lived in Sedgwick County for the past 16 years, he was raised in rural Harper County.
“My active community involvement comes from being raised in a rural area of neighbors helping neighbors,” he said.
He currently serves on the board of directors for the Goddard Chamber of Commerce. He is a Wichita Association of Realtors committee volunteer and an active member of Lions Club International.
Blubaugh is active in his community and said he believes a state senator should be visible in his or her senate District as well. He has hosted several events for local charities and his church, Holy Spirit Catholic Church.
The economy and jobs will be the top focus for Blubaugh’s campaign.
“As a real estate agent for over 15 years, I have witnessed firsthand how the local economy and jobs have negatively impacted our area since the Recession,” he said. “Our legislature needs to be more focused on jobs and the economy.”
He worked at Cessna for seven years until being laid off and going into business for himself.
The recent tax cuts are a good start toward improving the area economy, he said, but he is concerned those taxes will only be replaced with others.
“We are just treading water if we just put a tax on something else,” he said.
If elected, he will represent the community from a business stance, he said. That would also serve him in dealing with issues such as state education funding and how it is dispersed, he said.
“I am willing to look at everything with open eyes,” he said.
Blubaugh attended Friends University and majored in business. Blubaugh and his wife Elizabeth have four children Talia 17, Bentley 9, Jake 3 and Connely 1-1/2.