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For Bill Richardson supporters, Iowa caucus day was a wild, final push

By Kate Nash
Friday, January 4, 2008

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DES MOINES, Iowa — It's 10:01 p.m. Thursday outside the Quality Inn where Bill Richardson's volunteers are partying on caucus night.

A supporter stops Richardson as he's leaving and gives him a hug.

"I'm sorry," she says.

"It's OK," he replies, nodding his head.

And with that, Richardson gets in an Iowa State Police Crown Victoria, shuts the door and is gone, headed for the airport and then New Hampshire, step two toward his longshot political dream.

In the end, a year of campaigning for president across Iowa came down to this: 2 percent of the vote, condolences, reassurance.

But for the volunteers from New Mexico and Richardson's local supporters, the day of the Iowa caucus was a furious final push. Here's a look at some of the sights and sounds

10:06 a.m. Annette Torres is breathless about the state of the campaign at the Richardson for President headquarters in southwest Des Moines.

"We've doubled in five days the number of supporters," she says.

"Today, it's all about getting on the phone and making sure those who are with us get out."

They have the game plan down pat here as volunteers and staffers pour in and out of the office. Campaigners get ready to offer baby-sitting for caucus-goers, rides to the polls, whatever they need to be able to vote this evening.

10:33 a.m. A look around the room makes it seem like you're at the New Mexico state Capitol.

Listening in on caucus trainings are Department of Public Safety Secretary John Denko, Energy and Minerals Department Secretary Joanna Prukop and Department of Transportation spokesman S.U. Mahesh.

11:05 a.m. Denko looks wiped out.

"We got 77 houses yesterday," he says, tan scarf still wrapped around his neck. "We're getting a decent response. Most people won't say who they were for, or they'd say that they are undecided."

11:17 a.m. First lady Barbara Richardson pulls up and disappears into the campaign office. She's wearing a beautiful maroon cardigan, but it's the diamond-looking "Richardson 2008" pin that catches your attention. It's the only thing glinting in the weak Iowa sun.

11:20 a.m. About a mile from the campaign office, you can't miss the "Huckabee endorsed by God" hand-painted sign in someone's front yard.

12:01 p.m. A few miles farther, Chico Perez nurses a cigarette in the bar of the Hispanic American Legion. He's going to vote for Richardson, he says.

"He's got more experience than anybody - and he's Mexican," said Perez, who is retired from the bar and restaurant industry.

2:05 p.m. Back at the Richardson campaign office, the bizcochitos are gone, and people are disappointed.

But not for long. Richardson shows up to a burst of applause, and hugs, and handshakes. Then he's out the door and the team is back to work.

2:47 p.m. Trav Robertson, the campaign's Polk County director, calls for everyone's attention. He's standing on a family-sized cooler to get up above the crowd.

"We've got three hours and some odd time," he says. "We need you to start calling your `yeses' and making sure they get out to vote."

3:01 p.m. Judy Basham is calling down her list.

"Este mensaje es para Martina Castellanos," she says. A longtime supporter and former state government worker, Basham details the woman's caucus site and wishes her a nice day.

4:02 p.m. On a TV in media headquarters at the Polk County Convention Center, Richardson is on CNN. No one in the Google/YouTube Media Lounge turns up the sound to hear what he says.

4:29 p.m. "Bill Richardson isn't here yet," says a panicked voice coming from the Fox News tent.

Twenty seconds later, he is. The governor rounds the corner and heads into the tent, from which he's whisked to an enormous stage drowning in soft lights, camera men and actors' chairs.

5:02 p.m. Iowa Public Radio runs on and on and on about the Democrats. No mention of the governor from New Mexico.

5:50 p.m. In the cafeteria of Lincoln High School in southwest Des Moines, Richardson precinct captains Betty and Ken Lambert are looking for the Richardson signs.

"There are none. And they didn't give us any," Betty Lambert says.

They improvise, setting a white binder with a small sticker upright on the table so people can see it.

6:05 p.m. Upstairs, in the school's auditorium, the scene repeats itself at another precinct site.

"We didn't get any signs," says Phyllis Cacciatore, whose husband is the precinct captain at the school, just blocks from the Richardson campaign office.

6:51 p.m. Cacciatore has fashioned a sign out of a sheet of paper with "Bill Richardson" on it. Eight people now sit under it. More people are sitting in the back of the auditorium - in the undecided section.

6:55 p.m. "You've got about four minutes," says Raymond Murray, a retired carpenter who is running the caucus site. After that, the doors will lock, sealing in 143 voters.

"The last one in buys the beer," a man shouts form the direction of the stage. Most people have already been in the room for an hour.

7:14 p.m. Murray wants to know how many supporters each candidate has. Richardson's group is 15 strong, but Clinton, Edwards and Obama have three and four times that many. In this precinct tonight, it takes 21 for a candidate to be considered viable.

7:21 p.m. After a series of votes on dull resolutions, the caucus begins. All of a sudden, the echo of voices in the room is almost too much.

Paul Stougard works to turn a group of undecided voters to Richardson's favor.

"Richardson is the only one who has the experience to deal with everything," says Stougard, a retired postal worker. "We need a negotiator."

7:25 p.m. The room falls silent as the announcer calls out which candidates have enough votes to compete in the election.

Richardson doesn't make the cut.

7:26 p.m. The realigning begins. People who liked candidates who weren't deemed viable - Richardson and Biden at this site - have to join up with someone else. Those who switch from Richardson campaign are greeted in "The Price is Right"-style as they choose. Most head for Obama, including Richardson's captain and his wife.

7:45 p.m. The picture is clearer: Clinton gets 71 votes here, Edwards, 45, Obama, 29.

8:01 p.m. Richardson's supporters are a bit down. "He couldn't do it here, but maybe somewhere else," Stougard says.

8:57 p.m. At the Quality Inn, where the Richardson campaign is holding its caucus-night party, University of New Mexico Board of Regents President Jamie Koch is all smiles.

"I think Bill did well when you compare against people with a lot of money, with Edwards, who has been here before," he says.

9:30 p.m. The mood is somber as many volunteers begin to unwind for the first time in weeks. Several wonder out loud when the governor will drop by.

"We've never seen him not on top, so it's a difficult night for us," says Lori Martinez, a longtime supporter who works for the New Mexico Worker's Compensation Administration.

9:40 p.m. "We want Bill; we want Bill," is the mantra. It's loud, with about 200 supporters inside the ballroom.

9:46 p.m. Richardson walks up a ramp coated in blue Astro-turf like carpet. In his jeans and a navy suit coat, he seems like he's just won big. Wide smile, hair in place, energetic, happy. For about 15 minutes, he looks ahead to the New Hampshire primary, the debate Saturday with just him, Obama, Edwards and Clinton. He thanks his supporters and is off the stage and heading toward the door.

9:51 p.m. Campaign spokesman Tom Reynolds says the governor won't be taking any questions.

"There were four tickets out of Iowa. We got one of them. That's all that matters," he said.