It may take weeks to know who actually won the Iowa caucuses, but Pete Buttigieg has been busy taking victory laps – and counting new donations – in Manhattan.

"Monday was an unbelievable success and victory for the vision of this campaign," he told donors Thursday morning at a private home in Gramercy Park.

"There is just no question that Monday in Iowa represents an astonishing victory for our vision, for our candidacy and for this country," he told supporters Wednesday night at a loft space in the Flatiron District.

I was the pool reporter in the room at both fundraisers, responsible for taking notes for other members of the press corps. It felt strange and obviously isolating to be the lone reporter. There were no cameras, no photographers, no wire services. Just me.

The mood at the Wednesday night fundraiser was celebratory.

The mood at the Thursday morning event was more subdued.

It likely had much to do with the facts that the crowd was smaller, the setting was more intimate and the refreshments were catered breakfast foods rather than beer and wine.

Still, another fact remained that Buttigieg by the morning was ahead of Sanders by just about 0.1 percent in the Iowa state delegate count.

Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, fielded a question about advocating for the abolishment of the Electoral College while losing the popular vote to Sanders in Iowa. He didn’t answer directly, instead addressing another part of the supporter’s query about the country’s military commitments.

Buttigieg made no reference to the updated results. And neither did any of the approximately 50 supporters who had gathered to meet him in person. They were more focused on their candidate and his potential.

One man said he was a lifelong Republican but had switched party affiliations to back Buttigieg. He referenced one of the most emotional moments Buttigieg has had on the campaign trail, saying he was the child that Buttigieg spoke about when he said Tuesday that his performance in Iowa "validated" the experiences of young people who feel ostracized in their communities. After Iowa, Buttigieg is the first openly gay candidate to earn presidential primary delegates.

Another man asked Buttigieg what he can do for his campaign after maxing out – or donating the legal limit. The former mayor encouraged him to travel for the campaign and touted the professionalism of a volunteer whose encounter with an Iowa caucusgoer wanting to take back her vote upon learning Buttigieg is gay went viral:

 
Buttigieg at both events – and then again in an appearance Thursday on ABC's "The View" – gave many standard stump speech lines, but they nevertheless landed well among the different audiences. Even a reminder that he would have to raise taxes to fund his proposals was applauded by those in the Gramercy Park triplex.

Whether the former mayor wins, ties or loses in the Iowa delegate count seemed unimportant to the donors in Manhattan. He had moved them.

Buttigieg charmed even the superintendent of the building, who spoke Maltese to the candidate while in the elevator. At least two other workers there were of Maltese descent, like he is.

Buttigieg has spoken again and again about broadening his coalition across party lines and welcoming new supporters.

He appeared to have succeeded in Gramercy Park, where I overheard a woman outside the fundraiser saying she had never attended that type of function before and concluding that she was impressed.