It was the overwhelming turnout that sealed Mitt Romney’s fate as the runner-up in Iowa Thursday night, one of his top aides admitted to supporters in a conference call this morning.
Finance director Spencer Zwick said the campaign expected about 75,000 Republicans to turn out for the caucuses, with about 25,000 supporting Romney. He said while they exceeded their 25,000-voter goal, more than 100,000 GOPers showed up.
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Winner Mike Huckabee “did a nice job of motivating his base,” said Zwick. “More of [his] supporters turned out.”
Still, he put a positive spin on the results, noting that both Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush both lost Iowa. As he heads to New Hampshire, “I haven’t seen Gov. Romney more energized about going into a state and doing well,” said Zwick.
David Bradford, founder of Galactic Networks and one of Romney’s National Finance Co-Chairs, added that Huckabee’s strong evangelical support makes him something of a ”one-trick pony.”
Zwick encouraged the supporters on the line to “start reaching out” to new donors in anticipation of a post-New Hampshire fundraising push. He said while they’re raising money for the primary and the general election, “we’d encourage folks to focus on the primary.”
One listener, perhaps more pessimistic, asked when refunds of general election money would occur should Romney not win the nomination. (The answer was within 60 days.)
But in response, another said he’d like his money to stay in escrow to be used for Romney’s runs in 2012 and/or 2016.
