MUSCATINE, Iowa — Thursday night’s caucus turnout was the biggest Mike Hodges had ever seen.

Of those who decided to get out and vote Thursday night, many had never caucused before and several people crossed party lines at the last minute, said Hodges, Louisa County Republican chairman.

In Muscatine, Republican County Chairman Michael Gaeta said the story was much the same.

“We anticipated a good turnout and were ecstatic that 1,226 people cast votes,” Gaeta said. “There were a large number of non-registered and independent voters that needed to fill out paperwork.”

Gaeta said secretary Carolyn Williams did a great job of organizing the event and managing the crowd.

At the Cedar County Township and 76 Township Precincts at Township Hall, crowds were not a problem but caucus-goers faced different issues.

“The numbers were at least 50 percent higher than anything we’ve ever had,” said Tom Furlong, coordinator for the Barack Obama campaign.

Furlong said the 42 people turned out at 76 Township Precinct — a precinct in the past that’s never had more than 25 or 30 people. For the Cedar Township Precinct, 24 people turned out as compared to fewer than 10 in the past.

Each precinct was only allowed to elect one delegate and voted by ballot, which wasn’t popular with some caucus-goers, Furlong said. At the Cedar Precinct, in a two-round decision, the vote went to Barack Obama, with 13 votes and 11 for

John Edwards.

Precinct 76’s first round tied Hillary Clinton, Obama and Edwards, all with 13 votes each. On the second vote, Obama wound up with 15 votes. Still, the candidate needed a 50 percent majority.

“Since we needed a majority and everyone decided they were committed and stubborn and nobody was going to move, we chose to elect an undecided delegate,” Furlong said.

The other option was to draw a name out of a hat, he added, but no one wanted to see their candidate lose by the luck of the draw.

“It was fun and interesting, sometimes confusing,” Furlong said. “It was not a victory, but not a loss for any group supporting its candidate.”

Kas Kelly was coordinator for Muscatine’s Democratic Precinct 9, where she said the enthusiasm was outstanding.

“People were cheering. It was amazing,” she said.

She added that 154 people showed up and eight delegates were awarded; four to Obama, and two each for Edwards and Clinton.

Reporter contact information

Melissa Regennitter: 563-262-0526

or mregennitter@muscatinejournal.com