Welcome to the Pioneers in Health podcast. In this podcast, we share inspiring stories of pioneering leaders from our nation and from your backyard who are working to improve health.
In episode 41, we interview Chase Blasi, Kansas senator and Senate majority leader. He is a fifth-generation Kansan who grew up in West Sedgwick County and represents Senate District 26 in the Kansas Legislature.
In this episode, Senator Blasi discusses his background and how his interest was sparked in politics.
He first became interested in politics in 2010 while in high school — a time when the Tea Party made headlines and was coming into prominence. He became a volunteer for Mike Pompeo’s campaign for Congress, who successfully was elected to public office and went on to hold many high-level positions, including CIA director and secretary of state.
In 2017, he joined Kansas Senator Susan Wagle’s office while she served as president of the Senate. He then worked for Senator Ty Masterson’s office after that; he, too, served as president of the Senate. After working five years as a staffer, Chase decided to leave the Statehouse.
“Only then, four months later, my senator (Gene Suellentrop) resigned, and I thought, well maybe I should run for office and and run for the Senate,” he said. “And so next thing you know, four months later, I’m back in the Senate — not as a staffer, but now as a senator.”
He was elected in a precinct special election and is now entering his fourth year of service in the Senate and his second year as senate majority leader. He became the youngest person to serve in either position.
He also discusses:
- Servant leadership
- His experience as a young senator and the perspective that brings to the Legislature
- How being a father makes him a better legislator
- The high cost of child care
- Efforts to pass a statewide ban on cell phones in schools and how he built a non-partisan coalition to support it
- His focus on child health issues for the 2026 legislative session
- Leadership Kansas
- What gives him hope
And much more! Listen now, and learn more about how Senator Blasi is an innovative leader in Kansas.
Listen now
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