Jose Cambrils sat behind the electioneering fence outside the fire station in Loudon, chatting with fellow Republican candidates and tallying the stream of voters that had trickled in and out at a steady clip since he arrived at 7 a.m.
Polling locations across the state shared anecdotes of high turnout — a sign that, in a midterm election, would typically benefit Democrats as the minority party — but Cambrils was in high spirits. His optimism grew throughout the day.
In Loudon, which he represents along with Canterbury, lots of voters means lots of Republicans. By 2 p.m., the town had clocked nearly 1,800 voters. At that rate, it would reach about 80% turnout from registered voters by the end of the day.
“The last time we had numbers like this was with Trump on top of the ticket, and that brings everybody out to vote,” Cambrils said. “For Republicans to win here, you have to have big turnout.”
Susan Day sat in front of the polling location in Concord’s Ward 9, among the people holding signs as she waited for her bus. She said it was important for her to come out to vote because she dislikes everything President Donald Trump has done in office and wants change.
“I’d like to stop us being isolationist and become more empathetic with the rest of the world,” Day said. “Stop having this ego problem that we have.”
While the U.S. Senate and House races were top of mind for Day, she hoped to see a landslide for Democrats across the ballot.
“I also hope that the Democrats show initiative and strength – a backbone, which they have none,” Day said.
Day said she’s been voting her whole life, since she first became eligible. She believes her first election was in 1972, when former President Richard Nixon defeated Democrat George McGovern.
She has always voted primarily for Democrats, but now doesn’t feel that she identifies with the party. She resonates more closely to being a progressive, she said.
“I’ve felt that they have not done anything,” Day said. “I realized they were in a corner, because of Trump and being in the minority, but they have not seemed to be publicly outraged. I guess that’s what disappoints me.”
Susan Day leaves the Ward Nine polling location using Concord Area Transit after voting on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. Credit: Yasmeen Saadi / Monitor Staff 
Voters stand in line to submit their ballots at Concord’s Ward 5 on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. It’s the busiest hour the ward has seen in any recent election, Moderator Amy Volenberg said. Credit: EMILIA WISNIEWSKI / Monitor 
John Sununu greets voters outside the polls in Bedford on Nov. 3, 2026. Credit: CATHERINE McLAUGHLIN / Monitor 
Kathy Martone finished casting her ballot at Ward 5 in Concord, and spoke about her support for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Cinde Warmington. Credit: EMILIA WISNIEWSKI / Monitor 
Lily Tang Williams talks to voters outside the polls in Weare Credit: SRUTHI GOPALAKRISHNAN / Monitor staff 
New Hampshire gubernatorial candidate Cinde Warmington went to Ward 5 at Christa McAuliffe Elementary to vote and greet voters on Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Credit: GEOFF FORESTER / For the Monitor
Aimee Valeras was one of the first few dozen people waiting out the door to Concord’s Christa McAuliffe School in Ward 5 before the polls opened on Tuesday morning. The line, running along the sidewalk on Rumford Street, nearly went all the way back to Pleasant Street.
Valeras had her two dogs, Adora and Atticus, in tow while waiting for her husband, Andy, to cast his vote. As a mother of three children and a social worker, she said education and healthcare are issues driving her vote.
“We work at a community health center and we’re seeing people are really struggling to afford daily life and healthcare and feeding themselves and their families,” Valeras said.
She said she hopes to see changes in the second half of the President Donald Trump’s second half of his term. She casted her vote to be the “voice of the people that I work with.”
Jacob Brown recently moved Concord this January and is now looking to find different housing in the area. He said costs have made the process hard.
“It was kind of difficult to find a place to live that was affordable, and now that we’re trying to move again, it’s been difficult to find affordable housing,” he said.
Some of the candidates, like Chris Pappas and Cinde Warmington, could make some changes on that front, he said.
“There are some policies Kelly [Ayotte] has put in place that I just don’t think have been super effective,” he said.
As of 8 a.m., only one hour after the polls opened, the count of votes for Ward 5 sat at 264, the most Moderator Amy Vorenberg has seen this early on in the day.
“In my years of doing this, I’ve never seen [this] in all the elections I’ve done,” she said. “That was a lot, and it’s been steady since then.”
This story will be updated throughout the day. See all of our midterm election coverage at https://www.concordmonitor.com/midterm-2026-elections/.