In Concord’s Ward 7, Melissa Sheehey, age 53, and her daughter Makayla Bourbeau, 23, voted together at the Abbot-Downing School location Tuesday afternoon. The two have voted together every year since Bourbeau turned 18.
“It’s important to all of us,” Sheehey said. “Exercising your right to vote is extremely important. It’s hard to feel like you make a difference, and this is one of the ways you feel like you can.”
Sheehey said she wanted to vote for some third-party candidates but worried it would be throwing her vote away. For the two women, maintaining the right to an abortion is high priority, and Sheehey said she also cares about the economy and the high cost of energy bills, issues that impact all New Hampshire residents.
Linda Shurpik showed up to vote Tuesday afternoon at Christ the King Parish Hall like she does every single year without fail. Shurpik said she wasn’t passionate about any particular issue or candidate, but wanted to show her support for Governor Chris Sununu.
“I think Governor Sununu has done a great job. He led us through the pandemic, and that says a lot,” Shurpik said.
She felt that voting for Sununu would be voting to “keep New Hampshire the way it is,” and send the message that she’s satisfied with the direction the state is headed. She likes the way New Hampshire political representation is split between Democrats and Republicans, believing it keeps things balanced.
“I think other states could learn from New Hampshire,” Shurpik said.
Deb Greaves, 42, considers herself an independent, regular voter.
Her biggest issue at the ballot box Tuesday was abortion.
“I have concern about freedom to make our own choices for our body,” she said.
Greaves said she voted Democrat Tom Sherman for governor, which was really meant to be a vote against Sununu.
“He hasn’t been that bad of a governor, but I don’t care for him supporting a lot of the Republican platform right now,” she said.
Matt Casazza, a retired 65-year-old who worked in manufacturing, voted for Sununu, “which is ironic because I wasn’t fond of his father,” he said.
“I vote the person more than the party,” he said.
For U.S. Senate, he said he chose Republican Don Bolduc over incumbent Democrat Maggie Hassan, in part because he was turned off by all her ads.
“When I seen an ad campaign created by a 12-year-old kid with pair of scissors and a tape recorder that mainuplates what people say … that kind of swings me over,” he said.
For Howard and Joann Karbel, this was their first general election in NH after moving to town earlier this year from Massachusetts.
“I always vote – this is a good year to make a change,” said Howard, 77.
They said they grew up as Democrats, but now lean Republican. They both voted for Sununu over Sherman and Bolduc over Hassan.
“We need some fresh blood,” said Joann, 60. “People in office have been in there way too long.”
They said they paid attention to New Hampshire politics even when they lived south of the border and said crime was a top issue.
“It’s not safe, and that’s a huge problem, you have to be able to feel safe,” Joann said. “That’s the biggest issue for me, more than inflation, all those things can change, but you have to feel safe.”
Howard said he felt like the country “has gone off the rails.”
“I don’t recognize what the Democrats are doing,” he said.
Skip Foy, 64, considers himself a moderate Republican.
He said voting is a civic duty. He predicted close races this year and said the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade after 50 years weighed on a lot of voters’ minds.
He said he is worried about the far right wing of the Republican party and wouldn’t support any of those candidates.
“It’s scary to have to defend democracy,” he said. “If we lose that, we lose everything.”
