With her “vote now” t-shirt on, Judy Fredyma walked into Hopkinton High School Tuesday for New Hampshire’s primary election.
Accompanied by her husband, Jim, the two Hopkinton residents have voted in town for 46 years.
“That’s what we do,” she said. “It’s our job.”
On the ballot for Republicans were contests between election-skeptics loyal to Donald Trump and more moderate candidates looking to appeal to the party’s historic base.
Many high profile incumbents faced little opposition from their own party, including Gov. Chris Sununu, and U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, as well as U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster and U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas.
Sununu claimed victory within minutes of the last polls closing Tuesday night.
“In this time of inflation fueled by Washington’s out-of-control spending, strong fiscal management of the Granite State is more critical than ever,” he said.
Many Republicans had hoped the popular Sununu would have taken on Hassan for her Senate seat – in a race that never was. Instead, Sununu chose to run for a fourth term as governor and will face state Sen. Tom Sherman in the general election. Meanwhile Hassan waited to see if her opponent would be retired Gen. Don Bolduc or State Senate President Chuck Morse, neither of whom have the name recognition or political firepower of Sununu.
Kuster, who is a Hopkinton resident, came out to greet voters and cast her ballot Tuesday morning. Despite the rain and low voter turnout in some areas of the state, the polls in Hopkinton saw a steady stream of voters.
For some residents, the thought of skipping an election – even a primary – is out of the question.
“I just don’t not vote,” said Dick McIntire, who has lived in Hopkinton for 50 years.
With this election, he said he felt democracy itself will be at stake. He said he is concerned about voting rights, climate change, immigration and other issues.
“The whole list,” he said.
On both sides of the aisle, party politics have reached an extreme, he said.
The solution, is to keep participating in elections, like he’s done since he was 18 years old.
Among the voters trickling in and out of the high school, stood state representatives, campaigning for their own re-election, as well as other candidates on the ballot.
For Mel Myler, who was on the ballot for state representative in District 9 in Merrimack County, this election marks a decade of his involvement in the General Court.
Alongside him stood David Luneau, who was seeking his fourth term in office.
For the two Democrats, the election is a time for the town to come together.
“It’s like town meeting,” Luneau said. “You meet everybody.”
Also outside was one of their Republican challengers, Chris Lins, who ran for state representative in a special election last summer, losing narrowly to Muriel Hall, who is also on the Democrats ballot.
In his red Bow football jacket, with “Coach Lins” on the sleeve, he vowed to stay away from national issues and focus on local politics if elected.
“Everyone is well versed in national issues,” he said. “But I’m running for Granite Staters.”
Issues on the table for Lins include inflation, parental rights, mandates and immigration, he said.
“My job is to tie it to a state issue,” he said. “There’s not much I can do about your federal income tax.”
For Jim Fredyma, a lack of political participation motivates him to vote in each election, even in the rain.
“Everybody has to vote,” he said. “We’ve seen too many countries where people don’t vote and they’re unhappy with the outcome.”
Hopkinton will be one of two voting locations subject to a post election audit, the Secretary of State announced Tuesday. Following the passage of SB 366, this will be the first election a routine post-election audit will take place.
“The intent of this audit is to test the process of using high speed scanners to be used in the General Election,” said Anna Fay, communications Director for the Secretary of State.
The results of the audit will be available at noon on Friday. Laconia, Ward 1 was the other polling location selected.
Voter participation is a tradition in Hopkinton, which is also the home of state Sen. Rebecca Whitley and former Gov. John Lynch, residents said.
“Hopkinton always had a strong engaged voter base,” said Luneau.