Florida Man Roger Marshall doesn’t want Kansans to know about his carpetbagging past. Marshall presents himself as a fellow Kansan through and through, but for years he has owned a ritzy, beachfront home in Florida. What’s worse, Marshall spent thousands of taxpayer dollars on over a dozen unexplained “official” trips to the Sarasota area where his beach house just so happens to be. Conspicuously, those visits stopped after the property was damaged by a hurricane in 2024. Now, Marshall is trying to wash his hands of the whole affair, attempting to sell the home and hoping Kansans are none the wiser.
Marshall’s Kansas Residence Was A 1,120-Square-Foot Cabin On His Family’s Ranch Land. According to The Kansas City Star, “On the side of a dirt road in western Kansas stands a locked metal gate flanked by a mailbox and two no-trespassing signs. A quarter-mile past the gate, obscured from the road by trees and terrain, sits a 1,120-square-foot cabin with a small patio that looks out onto a fishing pond. This is where Sen. Roger Marshall calls home. […] Marshall’s Kansas voter registration now lists the St. John cabin as his residence. The cabin, built in 1980 and renovated in 2009, sits on roughly 310 acres of ranch land that have been in the Marshall family for decades. His office said he moved there when his children went to college.” [Kansas City Star, 9/25/24]
The Cabin Was Valued At $124,200. According to The Kansas City Star, “The cabin has one bathroom and one bedroom – with three rooms total – according to records kept by the Stafford County Appraiser’s Office. The appraiser this year valued the cabin, which includes a detached garage and two storage sheds, at $124,200. The agricultural land was valued at $21,530. The cabin has one bathroom and one bedroom – with three rooms total – according to records kept by the Stafford County Appraiser’s Office. The appraiser this year valued the cabin, which includes a detached garage and two storage sheds, at $124,200. The agricultural land was valued at $21,530.” [Kansas City Star, 9/25/24]
Marshall Purchased The Sarasota Waterfront Property In 2019 For $750,000. According to The Kansas City Star, “ The property is owned by a family-controlled corporation. Marshall and his wife, Laina, are its directors. Two of his sons serve as officers. […] A revocable trust purchased the Sarasota property for $750,000 in June 2019, just months before Marshall launched his Senate campaign. The address listed for the trust during the sale was Marshall’s home address in Great Bend at the time. Marshall’s House financial disclosure form also lists a June purchase of a Sarasota vacation home.” [Kansas City Star, 9/25/24]
2024: Marshall’s Sarasota Vacation Home Was Valued At $1.2 Million, Worth More Than Eight Times As Much As His Kansas Cabin. According to The Kansas City Star, “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.” [Kansas City Star, 8/24/26]
2026: Marshall Was Attempting To Sell The Sarasota Property For $1.45 Million. According to The Kansas City Star, “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.” [Kansas City Star, 8/24/26]
Marshall Took Several Taxpayer-Funded Trips To The Sarasota Area Between 2021 And 2024. According to The Kansas City Star, “Marshall’s taxpayer-funded trips to the Sarasota area over three years 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.” [Kansas City Star, 8/24/26]
Marshall Took Seven Taxpayer-Funded Trips To Sarasota In 2021, Racking Up A Bill Of $4,500. According to The Kansas City Star, “The Sarasota house first received attention last week, when Politico reported Marshall spent more than $4,500 in taxpayer money for flights and related expenses near his vacation home in Sarasota. Senate expense records show Marshall charged taxpayers for seven trips to Sarasota in 2021. Some of the trips included multiple stops in addition to Sarasota.” [Kansas City Star, 9/25/24]
Marshall Took At Least 14 Official Trips To The Sarasota Area Between 2021 And 2024, Spending Nearly $19,000. According to The Kansas City Star, “Subsequent filings with the Secretary of the Senate reviewed by The Star indicate that Marshall actually took at least 14 official trips through the Sarasota area between 2021 and 2024, costing taxpayers a combined $18,886. That included nearly $12,000 for Marshall’s airfare and transportation, more than $6,000 for the senator’s per diem and $689 in incidental expenses.” [Kansas City Star, 8/24/26]
One Of Marshall’s Official Trips To Sarasota Occurred Five Days After He Greenlit A Boat Lift Installation At His Sarasota Property. According to The Kansas City Star, “In one instance on Dec. 18, 2021, Marshall’s office spent $318 on airfare from Washington, D.C. to Sarasota five days after Marshall signed off on a boat lift installation at the Florida property in a filing that was notarized in Washington.” [Kansas City Star, 8/24/26]
Marshall’s Office Would Not Specify What Government Business He Was Conducting On His Official, Taxpayer-Funded Trips To Sarasota. According to the Kansas City Star, “Marshall’s office did not respond to a series of questions about his taxpayer-funded flights to and from the Gulf Coast, including what specific government business they were related to. His office did confirm that Marshall’s last official trip to the Sarasota area was in the summer of 2024.” [Kansas City Star, 8/24/26]
Traveling For Personal Reasons With Taxpayer Money Was Illegal. According to The Kansas City Star, “Taking personal travel on the taxpayer dime is illegal, said Kedric Payne, the senior director of ethics at the Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit government watchdog. But he said tacking personal travel on business travel can sometimes be a murky line – one that is often determined by a Senate committee. ‘You cannot spend taxpayer money on personal travel,’ Payne said ‘The analysis comes in as to whether or not it’s truly personal.’” [Kansas City Star, 9/25/24]
Marshall Stopped Traveling To The Sarasota Area On Official Business After A Hurricane Damaged His Vacation Home In 2024. According to The Kansas City Star, “Roger Marshall, a Kansas Republican whose primary residence is listed as a cabin in rural Stafford County, has not taken a taxpayer-funded trip to the Gulf Coast of Florida on official Senate business since a hurricane battered his Sarasota house in September 2024.” [Kansas City Star, 8/27/26]