Iowa GOP officeholder calls for Sorenson resignation – if he did it

CORALVILLE – If the charges that he took money to endorse Texas Rep. Ron Paul's presidential bid, the Sen. Kent Sorenson should resign, a top Iowa Republican elected official said Aug. 7.

“Only Kent Sorenson knows what he did. If he did what they are saying he did, he absolutely should,” Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz said during a stop in Coralville Aug. 7.

Sorenson, a Milo Republican, has been accused of accepting a payment in exchange for leaving his post as Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann's Iowa campaign chairman to endorse Paul just days before the Iowa's 2012 first-in-the-nation precinct caucuses.

According to information published by TheIowaRepubican.com, Sorenson accepted a check from a Paul supporter, but did not cash it. On an audio recording the blog made available, Sorenson discusses whether he should return the check or hold on to it “so I have something over him.”

Schultz, who endorsed former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum in the Iowa caucus campaign, said that if the charges against Sorenson are true, “Yeah, he should (resign.)”

However, if Sorenson believes he's innocent, he should fight the charges, Schultz added.

Schultz doesn't understand why Iowans would make candidate endorsements for money.

“That makes absolutely no sense to me,” he said after speaking to the Coralville North Corridor Rotary Club. “You endorse someone because you support them, because you want them to be president. That's an expectation everybody has that this isn't about money. It's about who the next president of the United States is.”

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