US Sen. Roger Marshall leaves paper trail in Florida while calling Kansas home

Filed 2h ago · Via Florida Phoenix · The Buffoon Desk

THIS STORY IS SCORED

Olde Timey

Kevin MacLeod · incompetech.com · CC BY 4.0

Photo: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland · No restrictions · via Wikimedia Commons

Kansas Republican Senator Roger Marshall faces scrutiny for deep ties to Sarasota, Florida, where he and his wife bought a $1.2 million vacation home in 2019, hosted fundraisers, and obtained fishing and real estate licenses while he served in Washington and claimed Kansas residency. Records show he held Florida fishing licenses until May and his wife held a Florida real estate license from 2021 to 2023, with another application pending, listing the Sarasota home as her main address.

The Marshalls paid roughly five times more in property taxes in Florida than in Kansas during his Senate term, and the deed for their sold Great Bend home was notarized in Sarasota. The Kansas City Star reported he spent more than $18,000 in taxpayer funds on official trips from Washington to Sarasota between 2021 and 2024, travel that stopped after a hurricane damaged the property; using taxpayer money for personal travel is unlawful.

Marshall, facing a midterm challenge from pastor Adam Hamilton, says he claims a rural Stafford County house as home and visits Florida to see grandchildren. A crowd at the Kansas State Fair heckled him with chants of ‘You don't live here’ during a debate where he defended his residency.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.

✒ FROM THE EDITORIAL DESK

Owning a vacation home isn't a crime and grandkids are a legitimate reason to fly south, but fishing licenses, a real estate license for the spouse, and five years of tax bills tipped toward Florida start to look less like visiting and more like living there part time with a Kansas mailing address for cover. The taxpayer-funded trips are the part that should sting, since that's not a lifestyle choice, it's public money covering what sounds an awful lot like a second home. A gravel road a short drive from the fairgrounds makes a fine soundbite, but the paperwork tells a different story.

Source: Read the original at Florida Phoenix → Scored: Olde Timey · Kevin MacLeod · CC BY 4.0

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