Ames, Iowa — “We’ve already gotten rid of all our tickets,” Cain spokesman Ellen Carmichael told me about twenty minutes before the voting ends. “We’ve been making hourly runs to go purchase more tickets We’re excited. We think he’s going to do well. The speech was incredible.”

Carmichael doesn’t know the exact number of tickets the campaign has distributed, but she is sure about a different statistic

“We’ve been through three thousand slices of pizza,” she says, referring to the Godfather’s Pizza the campaign is serving supporters.

She also says that the campaign intends to continue, regardless of today’s results.

“Mr. Cain jokes that he’s the growth candidate, and I think he’s shown that here,” Carmichael remarks, noting that at his recent Iowa events, crowds have doubled in size in the past couple of months.