'Suspended' think tank pays Iowa GOP governor candidate Ron Corbett $185K

Iowa Republican governor candidate Ron Corbett is receiving $185,000 in compensation from a conservative think tank that doesn't disclose its donors and that, according to its treasurer, has "basically suspended" operations.

The organization, Engage Iowa, stopped holding public events, raising money or issuing research papers last June when Corbett launched his primary campaign against Gov. Kim Reynolds.

But Corbett told The Associated Press that serving as the organization's president remains his day job and that he continues to research Iowa education, environment and economic policy in that capacity. He compared himself to candidates who work as lawyers or farmers.

"I shouldn't be expected to give up my day-time job," he said. "We haven't been dormant but I have stopped (soliciting funds and giving speeches) because I didn't want people to be confused on what hat I was wearing."

Corbett, 57, is one of three board members of the group. The others are Gordon Epping, who is its treasurer, and John Smith, the influential owner of Cedar Rapids trucking company CRST International, where Corbett used to work as an executive.

Read more: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2018/01/22/suspended-think-tank-pays-iowa-candidate-185-k/1055715001/