ELLINWOOD —Kent Roth of Ellinwood announced today by social media Facebook post, Facebook:/kentrothesquire, the formation of an Exploratory Committee to test the waters for a race against incumbent Congressman Tim Huelskamp in the 2014 Republican primary election.  
Roth said,  “My reason for testing the waters is as follows:  Rome wasn’t built in three days, but Rome may be destroyed in three days.  Meaning if an economic collapse like the bank failures of 1929 begins, financial ruin will overtake us so quickly that it will be too late for Tim Huelskamp or anyone else to pull back from the calamity. I view Tim Huelskamp as a danger to the Republic. His willingness to burn the House down unless 100% of his demands are met scares me.  His demands include cuts in Social Security and Medicare which should not and will never be agreed to in a crisis created by him.
“If elected, I will make protecting Social Security and Medicare my top priority.  I would not be considering a race for Congress if Tim Huelskamp was simply an embarrassment.  I came to the conclusion during the government shutdown that Tim Huelskamp was a danger to the Republic,” said Roth. “. . . Obviously, I am not the only one viewing Huelskamp with alarm.  He seems to crave appearing on national media in the role of the villain. I predict Huelskamp will engineer a second government shutdown on Jan. 15 and give his all out effort to make the shutdown last until the Feb. 7 debt ceiling is breached.  Obviously that would be bad for both the Republican Party and the nation.  In my mind, opposing Huelskamp is a patriotic duty. My first request to the Speaker of the House will be for appointment to the Agriculture Committee.”
Kent Roth was born and raised in Ellinwood. He completed his education by receiving a Bachelor of Science in Business degree from the University of Kansas in 1975, and a Juris Doctorate degree from Washburn University School of Law in 1979.
Roth was elected to the Kansas Legislature following his first year of law school in 1976, and served six years representing eastern Barton County.  Kent with his wife JoAnn married in 1979 and resided in the county seat, Great Bend, for twenty-five years where Roth engaged in the general practice of law, moving into the Roth family home in Ellinwood July 1, 2005.
Kent and JoAnn Roth adopted two children, Bonnie and Alex, both of Ellinwood.  His law office is located at 10 N. Main in Ellinwood near the site where his great-great grandfather operated a general merchandise store.