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Alex Cabrero reportingThere were some Iowa caucus parties here in Utah Thursday evening. We knew of at least four parties, two in Salt Lake, one in Sandy and one in West Jordan. Of course, there were the big favorites like Clinton, Obama, and Romney, and then, the smaller parties, like the one for presidential hopeful and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson.
Thursday was the day Aaron Thompson had been looking forward to. He says, "The only quick way to sum it up is it's almost like Christmas." Even though Santa visited last week, for Thompson, it's like he came back again. Instead of presents, though, he left behind Bill Richardson for President campaign signs.
Thompson, the head of Richardson's campaign in Utah, held a party at his home. And even though the New Mexico governor came in fourth, Thompson thinks he'll get more popular when the attention turns toward the Western states.
"His views and his values coincide with Utah values and western values and the needs of America, so I think this is where he's going to pick up a huge lead," Thompson said.
Donald Dunn, who's on Hillary Clinton's team here in Utah, says the Iowa caucus is exciting because it's the first real set of solid numbers candidates get. Of course, that also makes the excitement nerve-wracking.
Dunn said, "Her campaign is cautiously optimistic. She's got the strongest operations going on, not only in Iowa, but leading up to New Hampshire and Nevada and South Carolina."
But the biggest party and the loudest cheers we heard Thursday night came from Barack Obama's Utah headquarters, where supporters say his first place Iowa finish is a sign of things to come.
Obama supporter Josh McGrath said, "I'm just excited for something different. This is really my first time coming to something like this, and Obama is the one who got me here. I've never seen a candidate I've been so excited about."
We were invited to go to the Mitt Romney party, but Jeff Adams, who's helping run Romney's campaign here in Utah, told us we could only take pictures, and wouldn't be allowed to interview anyone about the excitement of the Iowa caucus, so we decided to skip that party.
Now all the parties are putting Iowa behind them and looking forward to New Hampshire.
