MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:
We're going next, though to Doug Wead, who is a campaign advisor to Texas Congressman Ron Paul. Doug Wead, welcome to the program.
DOUG WEAD: Hey, thank you very much.
BLOCK: And so far, looking like your candidate has come in a strong second in New Hampshire. Your take on tonight's results?
WEAD: Well, we're very pleased, especially with our own internal polling. We asked some questions that the network hasn't asked. And pretty ecstatic about the results. We found that a lot of the voters â corruption was an issue for a lot of the voters, corruption on Wall Street, corruption on K Street, corruption in Washington. And our candidate is â a screen writer could not create a more pure candidate than Ron Paul, who the lobbyists won't even tempt, who gives back part of his congressional allowance, who won't take the pension. So, we're very encouraged by that and we're encouraged by Huntsman's strong showing. We hope that he'll stay in the race.
BLOCK: Why do you hope he stays in the race?
WEAD: Well, the conservative vote is split four ways in the Republican Party, and the liberal-moderate vote is all to Romney if Huntsman drops out. So, we were hoping for a strong showing. We didn't want to give up second place. But we wanted him to do good, not too good but it looks like he's coming in just about perfect for us. And so, we're very happy tonight.
BLOCK: You like that split on that side of the field.
WEAD: Yeah, absolutely.
BLOCK: Let me ask you this. The thinking was that Congressman Paul would not compete terribly strongly in Florida. It's a very expensive media market, a big state to cover. Are you rethinking that now, given tonight's results?
WEAD: Yes, we are. And there's been a little bit of a misunderstanding regarding the story. Jessie Benton(ph) on our campaign has us totally focused on each contest as it comes. Of course, we plan ahead. But like a college football team, we're not supposed to be playing that BCS game. We're supposed to be focused on the game we play. And the next one now is South Carolina. That's where our focus is. But we'll be players in Florida. We have strong ground game there, a lot of people participating. And because it's all proportional, this is going to be a little more arcane, a little more of a marathon than most pundits are saying, this run for the nomination.
BLOCK: I'm curious about something. Some of the other Republican candidates have been beating up on Mitt Romney in the past few days, notably for his work with Bain Capital, and how they've taken over companies, in some cases laid workers off. Ron Paul seemed to come to his defense. In fact, he said it's a little weird of me coming to Mitt Romney's defense but he says they're misunderstanding how the market works. Reorganization is a proper role. What do you think voters think about that argument?
WEAD: I don't know what they think about it but I can tell you, working for Ron Paul is quite a hoot because he is absolutely incorruptible, based on principle. And sometimes those principles will take a surprise turn. Sometimes we wish he'd be a little more political but he's just absolutely guided by the principles he believes in, mostly the Constitution. And if he saw that as a principle, even if it hurts him to talk about it, he'll talk about it. So, that's what we love about him, too, though.
BLOCK: Okay, well, Doug Wead, thanks for talking to us tonight.
WEAD: Thank you very much.
BLOCK: Doug Wead is a campaign advisor to Texas Congressman Ron Paul. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.