CNN’s Iowa Caucus Coverage Enlists Groggy GOP Chairwoman to Tabulate Votes (Video)

The official outcome of the Iowa caucus didn’t come until nearly 3:00 a.m. ET on Wednesday morning, keeping cable newscasters up will past their usual bedtimes — and many Iowa republicans as well.

One such network stretching their broadcast late into the evening was CNN, which saw Wolf Blitzer and John King trying to make sense of the conflicting and close caucus results as they came in from different counties.

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Around 1:30 a.m. ET, they got GOP chairwoman Edith Pfeffer on the phone to report on the votes from Clinton County, as Mediaite points out. The only problem? Pfeffer had previously fallen asleep.

Fortunately, she had her friend Carolyn Talett to wake her up. During a simultaneous phone interview with Blitzer and King, the two Iowa women explained their frenzied night and even challenged the network’s tally of votes.

“I received a call at about 12:20 from state central committee asking if I knew how to get a hold of someone from 2-2,” explained Talett, who then called Pfeffer to no avail. “I was sitting at home watching CNN, waiting for the results… so I came to Edith’s home and pounded on her door and got her up.”

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This prompted chuckles from Blitzer and King, who while explaining the discrepancy between the state’s reported votes and Pfeffer’s, got an earful from the chairwoman.

“What do you mean, the numbers don’t match?” she said.

Watch the full video of the groggy, laughter-filled interview below: