Missouri State Representative Patricia Pike will complete her term limit (eight years) in the District 126 seat at the end of this year. Republican candidates, Jim Kalberloh and David Kelsay, have announced their candidacy for her seat in the August 2 Primary Election. District 126 encompasses Henry, St. Clair Counties and parts of Benton and Hickory Counties.
Jim Kalberloh has been serving as a member of the Missouri House of Representatives, representing District 125 since January 6, 2021. Redistricting now makes him eligible to serve in District 126.
Rep. Kalberloh said that he is particularly proud of a couple of his legislative accomplishments during his term as District 125 State Representative. He has introduced a bill related to cemetery trust funds that has been sent to Governor Parsons for signature. Cemetery committees have not been able to properly maintain cemeteries because they were only allowed to spend money from an inadequate amount of interest on their county commission-controlled trust funds. The new bill will allow county commissions to release enough cemetery trust funds to cover the maintenance costs. Rep. Kalberloh said that he has also enjoyed working with the budget chair to get a million-dollar line item into the budget for Golden Valley Memorial Hospital’s new cancer center.
“We can’t forget what happens in small rural districts,” said Rep. Kalberloh. “We talk about Kansas and St. Louis, but my goal is to work for our local values and way of life. The bill on cemetery trust funds is important to Hickory County. It was brought up five years before I worked on it.”
Rep. Kalberloh said that he has personally had to fight against government overreach and expensive regulations. He said that we should be supporting those who want to create jobs, provide meaningful goods and services to their community and take care of their families – not punishing them with unnecessary taxes and red tape.
During his former candidacy for the District 125 Missouri House of Representatives, he was quoted in The Missouri Times.com about his agenda, some which is quoted below. During a recent interview with Rep. Kalberloh he said that his agenda for the District 126 seat is very similar.
“Agriculture is the backbone of Missouri’s economy, so farmers and their families need our support,” said Rep. Kalberloh. “I will increase funding to rural schools, help promote Missouri products to maintain demand, and provide resources to those struggling during difficult years. We should never turn our backs on farmers. I will stand up for veterans in Missouri, making sure they receive every benefit they can after serving their country. I consider myself a Pro-Trump, ‘constitutional conservative’ and am 100 percent pro-life.”
Rep. Kalberloh is owner of Landmark Restaurant and a cattle farmer. He also operates a value-added agriculture business – a corn maze. He was born in Appleton City but was raised on the farm in Lowry City and still lives in the town with his wife, Cristie. He is a member of the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association, the NRA, Missouri Farm bureau, and American Legion Post 604. He attended a tech college (named Platt College at the time) where he earned a diploma in Farm Management in 1983. He also served 21 years as a member of the Missouri Army National Guard and served a tour in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He advanced to the rank of E-7 Sergeant First Class. He is a member at Church of God Holiness and previously served as the Lakeland School Board Treasurer for six years, and later the president for three years.
Rep. Kalberloh and his wife have been married for 26 years. They have three daughters and seven grandchildren.
David Kelsay provided a press release to the Clinton Daily Democrat stating, in part, that “After observing… the negative trends in our society and the troubling and dangerous events on the international scene, our nation needs the best leadership possible to get our country back on the right track.”
Kelsay said that he has lived all of his life within the boundaries of District 126, and grew up in the Urich area. He graduated from Sherwood High School and attended college at William Jewell, in Liberty, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. In 1980, he went to work for KCPL (now Evergy) at the Montrose Station facility where his career spanned almost 31 years. He was able to bring about substantial improvements in the areas of water purification and treatment, reducing chemical usage by 80 percent. During his tenure, the station continued as a reliable and economical source of electricity production in the KCPL fleet.
Kelsay joined the Henry County Republican Central Committee in 1986 serving as an officer on the committee for more than 30 years, most of that time as Chair. He served in many leadership positions such as Senatorial District Chair, Congressional District Chair, Republican State Committee and was an alternate to the Republican National Convention in 2020. In 2002 Governor Bob Holden selected him to serve on the Missouri House of Representatives Re-Apportionment Commission.
“In terms of my legislative priorities, first I am committed to the protection of our freedoms: the right-to-life, our Second Amendments rights to keep and bear arms, and our rights to free expression,” said Kelsay. “Second, I will work for accountability and transparency in our public institutions. And third, I want to improve on economic opportunities for our district and the state as a whole. I will work to see that good-paying jobs are available, and that agriculture, tourism, industry and small businesses have the opportunity to thrive. I will work to reduce and/or eliminate unnecessary regulatory burdens.”
On June 13, the Missouri Right to Life State Political Action Committee sent Kelsay a letter stating that it was pleased to give him a single endorsement for the 2022 primary election. The Committee stated that the endorsement represents its selection of Kelsay as the only candidate in the District 126 race who will be an effective voice for the protection of innocent human life.
Kelsay’s first wife, Joyce, died in 2014 after 30 years of marriage. He and his current wife, Enid, travel the campaign trail together. Kelsay has been an active member of First Baptist Church in Clinton for more than 40 years and he is currently helping with the GriefShare and Celebrate Recovery6 ministries. He has also volunteered or is currently volunteering with Clinton Christian Academy.
“I will be a full-time state representative and do my best to serve all the citizens of the 126th District. On August second, I hope you will ask for a Republican ballot, and I ask for your vote,” said Kelsay.
