Ellinwood lawyer Kent Roth has made it official — he will oppose Rep. Tim Huelskamp in an Aug. 5, 2014 Republican primary against the first-term Congressman in Kansas’ First District. Roth wrote on his Facebook page that he has signed his Federal Election Commission papers to officially run for Congress in the First District. Huelskamp has represented the First District since 2011. Roth’s first campaign stop was in Garden City Monday to receive the endorsement of Cecil O’Brate, who is the chairman and CEO of Palmer Manufacturing and Tank. Roth met O’Brate at the American Warrior office in Garden City. American Warrior is an independent oil and gas producer which drilled more wells in Kansas last year than any other company. Roth’s Facebook page reports that O’Brate has several other business interests as well as being active in many community organizations. Roth wrote O’Brate is a pillar of the Republican Party not just in Kansas, but on a national level. O’Brate is a personal friend of US House Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor. “Cecil O’Brate loves his country and wants a change from negative conduct to a positive Congressman who views his job as making the government work,” Roth said. “I am honored to stand with him.” Roth has started an exploratory committee before committing to his campaign. “My reason for testing the waters is as follows — Rome wasn’t built in three days, but Rome may be destroyed in three days,” Roth wrote. “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.” Roth considers Huelskamp to be a danger to the country. “His willingness to burn the House down unless 100 percent of his demands are met scares me,” Roth wrote. “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. In my mind, opposing Huelskamp is a patriotic duty.” Roth was born in Ellinwood and earned a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Kansas in 1975, and a doctorate from Washburn University School of Law in 1979. He was elected to the Kansas Legislature following his first year of law school in 1976 and served six years representing eastern Barton County.