The fact somebody at his headquarters told him this, and that he believed it, is pretty much exactly what's wrong with the Republican Party.
First, look at the red/blue map. The Republican Party is an everywhere Party, not just in the South. The Democrats big problem is that they're entirely an URBAN Party, with no support outside of large cities to speak of.
Second, evangelical? Please be serious. For those with religious affiliation, the Republican Party is almost evenly split between mainline Protestants and non-Latino Catholics, Of the Protestants, only 65% percent identify as Evangelicals. And, as a matter of fact, 25% of Republicans identify as atheist, agnostic, independent, or nothing at all. [numbers from Pew Research, 2011 -- this agrees well with earlier Pew and other supporting polls.] That makes Evangelicals a large, important minority within the Party, but hardly a makes the Republican Party an "Evangelical" Party.
Third: Populist? That's the dumbest part of all. The squishy RINO's are hardly "populists," they're blue-blood hereditary and elitist types, and the conservatives are principled ideologues, with no populist inclinations at all.
If Romney had jackasses like this in his headquarters, and worse yet, believed them, it's no wonder he lost. They didn't even understand the composition of their own party, or what would be needed to reach them, let alone the Indies.
Bump to the top! What a great way of putting it -- EXACTLY! I also think quite a few Democrat voters, often enough to sway the balance, are imaginary or frauds. Vote ginning, manipulation, etc. are easier to rack up in densely populated districts, I would think.