Glasscock announces City Council run; explains connection to former Fox News host

Dalton Glasscock, a former chair of the Sedgwick County Republican Party, is running to represent southwest Wichita’s District 4 on the City Council.

He aims to replace Republican Jeff Blubaugh, who attended his campaign kickoff event last week and plans to run for the Sedgwick County Commission in 2024.

Glasscock, 28, was briefly appointed to the County Commission himself in late 2020 to serve the remainder of Michael O’Donnell’s term after O’Donnell and two other local Republican officials tried to frame Glasscock for their own actions in a false political smear campaign.

Glasscock told The Eagle that experience gave him perspective on the importance of civility in local government.

“I think almost any problem can be solved over a cup of coffee,” he said. “We can disagree with people but disagree respectfully and figure out ways to work collaboratively.”

County election filings show Glasscock has raised $13,961 since he began collecting campaign contributions in May 2022.

Born and raised in Wichita, Glasscock got his start in civil engagement when he joined the Mayor’s Youth Council as a high school student, going on to serve six years on the city’s district advisory boards.

“I have a passion for — I think what people consider the boring stuff, but it has the biggest impact on your day-to-day life. Roads, bridges, transportation, parks and recreation,” Glasscock said.

He identified his major priorities as ensuring competitive salaries for Wichita police officers and firefighters, “cutting red tape” by amending zoning regulations to encourage development and supporting neighborhood associations.

Glasscock is the CEO of Starnes Media Group, which owns a talk radio station in Memphis and produces national broadcasts for Todd Starnes, the former Fox News host who branded himself “America’s conservative blowtorch.”

Glasscock’s campaign has received $500 contributions — the maximum value allowed — from both Starnes Media Group and Starnes himself.

“I actually met Todd when I was like 14 or 15 and we developed a friendship during that period. It was right when I got started in politics,” Glasscock said.

It was during his run for chair of the county Republican party in 2018 that Starnes reached out to ask for Glasscock’s help with the media venture, he said.

Fox parted ways with Starnes in 2019 while the host was embroiled in controversy for seemingly agreeing with a guest on his program who suggested that Democrats who say they are Christians actually pray to Moloch, a pagan god associated with child sacrifice.

“I think a lot of that’s taken out of context in a lot of ways,” Glasscock said.

Starnes also drew considerable backlash earlier in 2019 for instructing U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota to take a “one-way plane ticket back to whatever third-world hellhole you came from.”

“Todd was looking at a couple of options, so he had asked me to come over and kind of help launch — not just his national components but really a local news talk station down in Memphis,” Glasscock said.

He said his business involvement with the rhetorically charged commentator wouldn’t impede his ability to bridge the political gap and govern effectively as a City Council member.

“I respect diversity of thought,” Glasscock said. “There’s plenty of people in my life, including Todd, that I don’t agree with everything they say. But our station in Memphis really does a good job and I think Starnes Media Group as a whole does a very good job at elevating diverse opinions.”

Glasscock is also an adjunct lecturer at Wichita State University and owns a consulting firm — DCG Consulting — which contracts with renewable organizations and supports land owners who want to use their property for wind and solar energy projects.

This story was originally published January 10, 2023 at 5:17 AM.