Sen. Roger Marshall’s latest campaign finance filing is largely missing spending entries typical of nearly all campaign reports: Those described as wages, salaries or payroll.
The Kansas Republican, who is up for reelection in a competitive race as Democrats try to expand their Senate map, is facing scrutiny about whether he’s used taxpayer dollars to fund his reelection bid, including by using his official Senate staff as an extension of his campaign.
Marshall’s latest filing with the Federal Election Commission, covering campaign spending from mid-July through the end of September, does not appear to include any payments to full-time campaign staff.
A joint investigation published last week by MS NOW and Kansas Reflector reported that the Marshall campaign hadn’t cut a paycheck to campaign staff in the last five years, an arrangement that experts quoted in the piece called “extremely uncommon” for a Senate campaign. The article also listed a number of instances in which Marshall may have violated ethics rules by using his office’s funds for campaign purposes.
Trending
Marshall’s office and the Marshall campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Marshall’s chief of staff told MS NOW and Kansas Reflector that the campaign now has campaign staff, without providing evidence.
Congressional staffers are allowed to work for campaigns, but only under strict guidelines. The work must be done on staffers’ own time, outside of congressional offices and without congressional resources.
The FEC filing says Marshall’s campaign spent $5.3 million in the third quarter, raising about $801,000 and finishing with $922,000 cash on hand.
The FEC records also indicate the campaign spent a little more than $10,000 on outside consultants from July through September.
Marshall, who polling has found to be deadlocked with Democrat Adam Hamilton, is in need of additional support for his campaign operation. According to Axios, Chris Grant, a top Trump political adviser who has previously worked for Marshall, is part of the cavalry that’s been sent in to help Marshall’s campaign in the final stretch.
The Washington Sun previously reported that Republican PACs have moved millions of dollars of ads into Kansas to rescue Marshall’s reelection bid as some GOP operatives say the senator lacks a good ground game.
Author
