Sen. Roger Marshall’s campaign repaid a Kansas bakery double the amount of a six-year-old unpaid cookie bill after the owner aired the snub online and said she would never vote for him.
Holly Thomas, a bakery founder, said Marshall’s team ordered cookies and treats for a 2020 primary election watch party and left a $678.75 invoice hanging for years. She went public on Oct. 8. Two days later the campaign paid $1,300 and posted proof.
Fox News Digital reported the dispute as Marshall, R-Kan., seeks re-election. Thomas framed it as a small-business story, not a policy fight. Marshall said his team had no idea how the bill was missed and moved to fix it once they saw the post.
For conservatives who talk constantly about Main Street, the episode is simple: campaigns that preach free enterprise still have to pay the local baker on time.
Thomas described herself as a brand-new owner when the order came in. She said the watch-party sweets were made, delivered, and then ignored while she chased payment.
In her Facebook post, she wrote:
"Do you know why I will never vote for Roger 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. And I never got paid. For nearly a year, I made repeated attempts to collect payment, reaching out by phone and email. I never received a return phone call, and the invoice was never paid,"
She tied the snub to the COVID stretch, when many small shops were already fighting to stay open.
"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. Every single dollar mattered. Those cookies and treats cost money to make, employees' time to prepare, and resources that my little business couldn't afford to give away,"
Thomas posted an image of the invoice and a photo that appeared to show custom cookies made for the campaign. She said the slight stuck with her.
"Six years later, I haven't forgotten. This isn't about political parties or policy disagreements. It's about my personal experience as a small business owner and the importance of honoring financial commitments. That experience is why Roger Marshall will never get my vote,"
On Oct. 10, Marshall answered on X. He shared a screenshot of a $1,300 payment to the bakery and said the campaign tried to reach Thomas to apologize as soon as the post surfaced.
Marshall wrote:
"As some folks may have seen, there was a post on social media regarding an unpaid 2020 cookie 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,"
Double the original $678.75 landed at $1,300. That closed the arithmetic. It did not erase the six-year lag.
Marshall won his Senate seat in 2020 after serving in the U.S. House. He is running again this year. The unpaid watch-party tab sat on the books across that entire arc until a Facebook post forced the issue.
Thomas later confirmed the money hit. She did not soften her political verdict.
"But I can officially confirm that Roger Marshall has paid his bill! Better late than never, right? Six years later, I guess we can finally mark that invoice PAID!"
She thanked supporters and said she was headed back to work. The campaign’s position is that the bill was an unknown oversight, fixed fast and at twice the sticker price once it became known. Thomas’s position is that phone calls and emails for nearly a year should have been enough without a public shaming.
No court filing, fine, or formal complaint appears in the coverage. The lever was social media, an invoice photo, and a senator up for another term. The bakery got its cash. The senator got a reminder that small vendors keep score.
Campaigns that champion small business do not get a six-year grace period on the cookie invoice, pay the baker, then ask for the vote.
