U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall’s taxpayer-funded trips to and from the Gulf Coast of Florida, where he owns beachfront property, were more extensive and more expensive than previously reported.
A Star analysis of travel expenses reported by Marshall’s office to the Secretary of the Senate shows that between July 2021 and July 2024, the Kansas Republican spent more than $18,800 on official trips that included at least one stop in Sarasota or nearby Tampa.
Marshall’s office disputed that figure, saying many of the expenses cited in those filings were related to non-Florida travel on the same trips.
Payton Fuller, Marshall’s spokesperson, said the senator actually only spent $5,271 in the Gulf Coast trips, citing “itemized expenses that aren’t public.” The office has so far not provided copies of those receipts. Now, Marshall is attempting to sell off the hurricane-battered three-bed, two-bath house that has emerged as a possible political liability in his re-election bid.
The asking price is $1.45 million. The Star reported in 2024 that the Florida property, then appraised at $1.2 million, had a value more than eight times that of the cabin and surrounding land in Stafford County, Kansas, that Marshall identifies as his primary residence. He sold the home in Great Bend where he and his wife raised their children 10 days after being sworn into the Senate in January 2021.
‘Your dream waterfront retreat’
The expensed flights and related costs, which Marshall’s office defends as the byproduct of legitimate government trips, stopped two months before the official trips were brought to light and a string of powerful storms hit Florida.
On Sept. 20, 2024, Politico reported that Marshall had charged his office nearly $4,500 for eight trips to the Sarasota area. On Sept. 26, 2024, Hurricane Helene brought strong winds and historic flooding to parts of Sarasota County.
Thirteen days later, on Oct. 9, Milton became the first hurricane to directly strike Sarasota since 1944. Wind gusts reached speeds of up to 115 mph, downing palm trees and causing damage to boats and buildings.
The analysis of receipts filed with the Secretary of the Senate found no record of Marshall charging his office for Gulf Coast trips between July 9, 2024, and March 31, 2026, the end of the most recent reporting period. Marshall put the house on the market on March 30, according to the listing agent’s website.
“An exceptional opportunity awaits to create your dream waterfront retreat in one of Sarasota’s most desirable locations,” the description reads. “This unique property offers the rare chance to either complete the existing structure to your exact specifications or design and build a custom home tailored to your vision.”
At a campaign stop earlier this month, Marshall told the Topeka Capital Journal that the Florida house hasn’t been habitable since the fall of 2024. “I only wish I had a home in Florida,” Marshall said on Aug. 10.
“Our home in Florida was destroyed by a hurricane almost two years ago.” Sarasota County property records list the property’s combined home and land value at $921,100. That’s down from just under $1.3 million in 2024, before the hurricane damage.
The real estate listing includes photos that show some of the rooms in the house remain unfinished. Records show that two of Marshall’s four adult children also have homes in Sarasota. “We do have grandchildren there,” Marshall told reporters in Topeka. “My wife wanted a second place to go visit. I didn’t ever get there very often. You should come visit my home in rural St. John. We’ve had this particular home since 1999. It’s where I love to go. I only wish I could get there more often.”
Taxpayer-funded trips through Florida
Previous reporting identifying nearly $4,500 of Marshall’s Gulf Coast travel was based on records that had been made public at the time.
