Kansas senator pays bakery $1,300 after six-year payment dispute

Summarised from 3 outlets · Updated 12 Oct, 11:26 · Archive

Senator Roger Marshall has paid a Kansas bakery $1,300 after a six-year dispute over unpaid campaign treats.

Roger Marshall, a Republican US senator from Kansas, has paid a bakery $1,300 after six years of non-payment for campaign treats ordered for a 2020 primary election watch party.

Marshall's campaign had ordered 150 custom sugar cookies bearing his campaign logo, 100 cupcakes and 100 brownies from Holly's Sweet Treats in Hutchinson, Kansas. The original bill came to $678.75.

Holly Thomas, the bakery's owner, initially made repeated attempts to collect payment over nearly a year, reaching out by phone and email without receiving a response or payment. Thomas said the unpaid invoice was particularly difficult because she was a new business owner during the Covid-19 pandemic, when small businesses were struggling. 'Every single dollar mattered,' she wrote. 'Those cookies and treats cost money to make, employees' time to prepare, and resources that my little business couldn't afford to give away.'

On 8 October, Thomas posted about the unpaid bill on Facebook, explaining why she would never vote for Marshall. The post gained attention, and shortly afterwards Marshall responded on social media that his team had 'absolutely no idea how this happened'. He posted a screenshot showing he had paid the bill double, at $1,300.

Thomas concluded her original post by stating the issue was not about politics but about 'my personal experience as a small business owner and the importance of honoring financial commitments'.

How it is being reported

• Senate Republican settles six-year-old campaign bill after being called out on social mediaAfter the founder of Holly's Sweet Treats called out Sen. Roger Marshall's campaign for stiffing her company on a 2020 purchase, the debt was paid off.Fox News · 12 Oct, 11:12
• Republican US senator facing re-election settles six-year bakery debtRoger Marshall says he has ‘no idea how this happened’ and repaid bill double for 2020 election watch party treats The Republican US senator Roger Marshall says he has finally paid off a bakery debt – after six years and repeated collection attempts reported by a Kansas business that had supplied a large order of treats for a 2020 election watch party. “We have absolutely no idea how this happened”, the Kansas senator wrote in a social media post containing a screenshot of the payment on a $678.75 invoice from Holly’s Sweet Treats as well as his $1,300 payment. “And we have repaid the bill ……Guardian World · 12 Oct, 11:00
• Kansas senator finally pays bakery $1,300 after they exposed that his campaign didn't pay bill for custom cookies and brownies six years agoMarshall's team asked for 150 custom sugar cookies with Marshall's campaign logo drawn on them, 100 cupcakes, and 100 brownies for his primary election watch party in 2020.Daily Mail · 11 Oct, 21:59

In this story: Roger Marshall · Holly Thomas · Holly's Sweet Treats · Hutchinson, Kansas · Kansas

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