Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall Pays Bakery Double After Owner Goes Viral Over $678 Cookie Bill Unpaid Since 2020

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Republican Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas has paid a bakery bill that went unpaid for more than six years, settling the debt two days after the small business owner publicly accused his campaign of never paying for treats ordered for a 2020 election watch party.

Holly Thomas, founder of Holly's Sweet Treats in Hutchinson, posted on Facebook on Thursday that Marshall's campaign had ordered cookies and other baked goods from her bakery for his primary election night party in 2020 and never paid the $678.75 invoice.

"Do you know why I will never vote for Roger Marshall?" Thomas wrote. "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. And I never got paid."

On Saturday, Marshall said on social media that the bill had been paid, and twice over.

"As some folks may have seen, there was a post on social media regarding an unpaid 2020 cookie bill," Marshall wrote on X. "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."

He shared an image of a digital receipt showing a $1,300 payment to Holly's Sweet Treats.

Repeated attempts to collect

According to Thomas, the invoice was due Sept. 2, 2020. The order included 150 frosted sugar cookies, 100 mini strawberry muffins and 100 fudge brownies. The receipt she shared listed $375 for custom sugar cookies and $175 for fudge brownies, among other items.

Thomas said she tried for nearly a year to collect payment, contacting the campaign by phone and email.

"I never received a return phone call, and the invoice was never paid," she wrote.

Thomas said her business was just getting started during the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when every dollar mattered to her bakery.

"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 wrote.

Bill marked 'paid'

After Marshall's payment, Thomas confirmed in a follow-up post that the debt had been settled.

"I can officially confirm that Roger Marshall has paid his bill!" she wrote. "Better late than never, right? Six years later, I guess we can finally mark that invoice PAID!"

The $1,300 payment is close to, though slightly less than, twice the original $678.75 bill, a difference some social media users were quick to point out.

Online reaction

Thomas' original post spread widely on social media and drew national attention, with many users criticizing the senator over the unpaid bill.

Marshall's response also drew ridicule from some commentators. Financial journalist Joe Weisenthal called the statement an "instant classic," while several Democratic operatives mocked it as a poor message heading into the midterm elections.

Critics also contrasted the episode with past reporting about a hospital where Marshall worked as a physician in Kansas, which pursued patients over unpaid medical bills. Marshall, an obstetrician, has previously defended his record on the issue.

Political backdrop

The dispute comes at a politically sensitive time for Marshall. He was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2020, after winning the Republican primary in August of that year, the event for which the baked goods were ordered. He is seeking reelection in the midterm elections next month.

Small businesses are a key constituency in Kansas, and the image of an unpaid local baker struck a chord with many voters online.

Marshall's statement did not explain how the bill went unpaid for so long or whether the campaign had received Thomas' earlier attempts to collect. It was not immediately clear whether the payment came from his campaign or personal funds.

A small debt, a large spotlight

The incident highlights how social media can rapidly amplify local disputes into national news. What began as a single Facebook post from a small-town bakery owner quickly reached audiences far beyond Hutchinson, a city of roughly 40,000 people in central Kansas.

For Thomas, the result was a long-overdue payment and an unexpected surge of attention for her business.

For Marshall, the episode offered an unwelcome distraction in the final weeks before the election, even as his campaign moved quickly to resolve the debt once it became public.