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Holly Thomas, owner of a Kansas bakery, called out Senator Roger Marshall on social media for not paying a $678.75 bill from six years earlier for cookies and treats ordered by his campaign during the 2020 election. After Thomas’s post gained attention, Marshall paid the invoice plus an additional amount, totaling $1,300. This incident highlights a small business owner's personal experience with financial integrity in political dealings.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-12,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Holly Thomas, owner of Holly's Sweet Treats in Hutchinson, Kansas, posted on Facebook last Thursday about a debt owed by Roger Marshall, now a U.S. senator running for re-election. Six years ago, his campaign ordered custom cookies and treats from her bakery totaling $678.75 for an election watch party but never paid the bill despite repeated attempts to collect it. Thomas highlighted that she was just starting out as a small business owner during the pandemic when this happened.
Marshall's office only addressed the issue two days after Thomas' post went viral, settling the debt and paying an additional $678.75 to cover interest and potential damage to her business. Locals expressed their disappointment in Marshall’s conduct towards small businesses like Holly’s Sweet Treats, impacting his re-election campaign negatively.
The senator claimed they had "no idea how this happened" but quickly resolved it upon becoming aware of the issue. This incident follows reports about Marshall's medical practice suing numerous patients over unpaid bills as low as $101, further damaging his reputation among constituents who value ethical business practices and community support during hardships.
Written for “Senator Pays Six Year Old Debt” on 2026-10-12,
grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 73776 · logged 2026-10-12
Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., paid a six-year-old campaign bill after a bakery owner called him out on social media for allegedly failing to pay for cookies and other treats ordered for a 2020 election watch party.
uncertain
owner → pay → party
Holly Thomas, a bakery founder, said in an Oct. 8 Facebook post that she would never vote for Marshall because his campaign had failed to pay a $678.75 bill despite her repeated attempts to collect the money.
asserted
campaign → say → money
Thomas shared an image of the invoice and a photo that appeared to show custom cookies made for Marshall's campaign.
asserted
that → share → campaign
"Do you know why I will never vote for Roger Marshall?
asserted
I → know → Marshall
Because six years ago, when I was a brand-new small business owner, his campaign ordered cookies and treats from my bakery for his primary election watch party.
asserted
campaign → order → party
And I never got paid.
asserted
I → pay → ?
For nearly a year, I made repeated attempts to collect payment, reaching out by phone and email.
asserted
I → make → phone
I never received a return phone call, and the invoice was never paid," Thomas wrote in the post.
asserted
Thomas → receive → post
"Not only was I just starting out, but we were also in the middle of COVID, when small businesses everywhere were struggling just to keep their doors open.
asserted
businesses → start → doors
Every single dollar mattered.
asserted
dollar → matter → ?
Those cookies and treats cost money to make, employees' time to prepare, and resources that my little business couldn't afford to give away," she explained.
asserted
she → cost → that
"Six years later, I haven't forgotten.
asserted
I → forget → ?
It's about my personal experience as a small business owner and the importance of honoring financial commitments.
asserted
It → honor → commitments
That experience is why Roger Marshall will never get my vote," Thomas concluded.
asserted
Thomas → get → vote
Marshall — who had been serving in the U.S. House of Representatives when he won election to the U.S. Senate in 2020 — addressed the issue on Oct. 10, sharing a screenshot showing a $1,300 payment to the establishment.
"As some folks may have seen, there was a post on social media regarding an unpaid 2020 cookie bill.
uncertain
folks → serve → bill
We have absolutely no idea how this happened, but rest assured as soon as it became known to us, we immediately attempted to contact the business in order to apologize, and we have repaid the bill from 2020, double
asserted
we → have → 2020
," Marshall's post on X noted.
asserted
post → note → X
Thomas confirmed that the bill had been paid.
"But I can officially confirm that Roger Marshall has paid his bill!
asserted
Marshall → confirm → bill
Six years later, I guess we can finally mark that invoice PAID!" she wrote in part of a Facebook post.
asserted
she → guess → post
Now, back to doing what I do best!"
asserted
I → do → what
Marshall is seeking re-election this year.
asserted
Marshall → seek → election
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