Cheryl and Barry Mello of Allenstown hope that former president Donald Trump uses a filter this year as he campaigns for the Republican nomination for president.

They fear a backlash might surface after nearly nine years since Trump rode the escalator at Trump Towers into a lobby packed with media, staffers, tourists and announced he would run for the White House.

His nicknames for opponents followed. ‘Crooked Joe Biden.’ ‘Slimeball James Comey.’ ‘Nikki Nimrada Haley,’ a mocking reference to his sole opponent in the GOP race, Nikki Haley, who is the daughter of Indian immigrants and was born Nimarata Nikki Randhawa.

“I don’t like when he does that,” Barry said. “I get tired of this (stuff). “It’s like a pain.”

But for the Mellos, it’s still Trump or bust because the alternative is worse.

Voters rolled their eyes Tuesday when asked about a possible rematch of the 2020 presidential election that divided the nation. Still others, supporters of both candidates, said they feel recharged now that the nominating process is off and running.

Public opinion polls suggest most Americans oppose a rematch. One national poll showed around 56% of adults had a negative view of Biden. About 58% felt the same way about Trump.

Steve Burris stood in front of the Chichester Central School polling station and said he was disappointed at Biden’s ineffectiveness in building a “bridge to the future.”

“I would have preferred a different Democrat,” Burris said. “But of course, I’m going to vote for him, given the alternative.”

Donna Fanning of Allenstown said the election process over the next 10 months might be embarrassing when the two candidates debate.

“There’s no need to do it because Biden can’t answer questions,” Fanning said. “If he debates, it could get ugly, because he could stumble and he’s on live TV. I’m afraid for him. He’s struggling mentally, and I’m sorry, that’s just the way it is.”

Andrea McGahan, 74, of Concord, was almost resigned to the fact the country was about to face a rematch that few want to see.

“I think it’s inevitable that Trump is gonna get the nomination,” McGahan said. “I’m wanting to give my vote to that other person that I felt was, you know, was more capable… I wanted a little bit of a change.”

McGahan once supported Trump but grew weary.

“I liked a lot of the things that Donald Trump did for the country, but he just makes me nervous,” she said.

Karolyn Domini of Bow voted for Haley on Tuesday because she was inoffensive compared to the men at the top of their tickets.

“Both Joe Biden and Donald Trump are offensive,” said Domini, who voted for Biden in 2020 and now considers him incompetent.

“In the general election, if it does come down to Trump and Biden, I look at the personalities, they both lose,” she said. “I look at the policies, and I just can’t align myself with Biden’s policies. So in the general election, I would have to vote for Trump.”

“I just wish there were more options across the board.”

Yet Trump loyalists are rooting for a rematch so their man can rectify what they think was a stolen election.

At Chichester Central School, Kathy Holmes wore a sock pinned to her coat’s lapel. It had Trump’s face, a red tie and the unmistakable color of Trump’s hair, standing tall like stalks of grain. Holmes carried a sign with Trump’s face replacing the Old Man of the Mountain.

She’s ready for battle.

“I don’t think it’s a matchup at all,” Holmes said, “as long as the voting has integrity.”

Trump has even grown in stature as he defended himself on charges of snatching top secret documents from the White House, coaxing supporters to march on the Capitol Building and telling an election official in Georgia, a state in which Biden won by 11,000 votes, to find more votes.

“You can make all those accusations and they are pumped up,” Holmes said.

Where Republicans see strength, Democrats see greed.

“I really wish that I could sit down with a Republican who has or will be voting for Trump and have them explain to me their thought process,” said Patricia Garrison of Boscawen. “I really don’t get it. I honestly do not get it. He’s a buffoon, and he’s a manipulator and he’s vindictive.”

Reporters Catherine McLaughlin, Sruthi Gopalakrishnan and Eric Rynston-Lobel contributed to this report.