Peter Cook hadn’t voted in Boothbay Harbor since he was a kid. He owns homes in both Maine and Connecticut, but this year’s U.S. Senate election between incumbent Susan Collins and challenger Sara Gideon brought him back to his hometown. “I came to vote Susan Collins out,” he said. When asked why he wanted the four-term Republican U.S. senator to lose, he said: “I think she’s been tinged by the orange disease,” he said.

Cook was one of 50 Boothbay Harbor residents who arrived at the Boothbay Harbor fire station to cast their ballots. By mid-October, 34% of Boothbay Harbor had voted early. Some cast an early ballot due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and others were excited by several highly anticipated political campaigns. The Collins-Gideon battle could decide which party controls the U.S. Senate. Locally, Rep. Holly Stover is battling former representative Stephanie Hawke for a state legislative seat. Stover defeated Hawke by 112 votes in 2018.

But the marquee race on most early morning voters’ minds was the one between President Trump, who won the presidency in his first-ever election, and Joe Biden, who served two terms as Barack Obama’s vice president and six terms as a U.S. Senator.

J.D. Warren emerged so excited from the ballot box, he didn’t wait for a question to finish before answering he voted for the president. “I voted for Trump. You either vote for communism/socialism or freedom, and I voted for freedom. This election is important in protecting our First and Second Amendment rights,” he said.

Warren voted with his wife Marie Warren. The couple has voted together in-person ever since they were married 46 years ago. The Warrens were more concerned about ballot security than COVID-19. “We wanted to make sure our vote counts so we voted like we always do, in-person,” Marie Warren said. Both said they voted for Trump and Collins and planned on watching the results on Fox News. 

Kim Mills is another Boothbay Harbor resident who voted in-person and supports the president. “I think we need to keep going on the right track and I think Trump has done a good job. He says some things I don’t always agree with but I think he deserves re-election,” he said. Mills plans on watching election returns on CNN. 

But some in-person voters considered voting early or absentee. Sarah Rego didn’t have any particular interest in any national, state, or local race. “I had the absentee ballot application at home. I’m not sure why I didn’t send it in. It’s probably because I always vote in-person,” she said. 

Boothbay also saw a long line of voters as the polls opened at 8 a.m. at Boothbay Railway Village. Town officials reported 60 residents arrived at 8 a.m. to cast ballots. Town Manager Dan Bryer predicted 2,500 out of 2,600-plus registered voters would cast ballots in the 2020 election.

Doug Fraher wasn’t worried about COVID-19 or potential long voting lines so he voted in-person. “I like Joe Biden, but the main reason why I voted for him is that he isn’t Donald Trump,” he said. “I think (Trump is) arrogant and a pretty unpleasant person. I also disagree with his environmental policies.”

Another Boothbay voter thought Trump and Collins both deserved re-election. Dick Perkins always votes in-person and had no intention of voting early. “I think the key to moving the country forward is re-electing both Trump and Collins because of their job performance,” he said. 

For Glenn and Sarah Hyson, the U.S. Senate race was the most interesting campaign this fall. They were both surprised at how much money was spent in television ads, especially the negative ones. The Federal Election Commission reports over $100 million was spent in Maine between the two campaigns and various special interest groups. “The most interesting aspect was the negative ads. Sara Gideon’s were off the rails,” Sarah Hyson said. 

Her husband agreed Gideon’s campaign ads were misleading about Collins’ record. “Her ads talk about Collins taking a lot of money, but they don’t tell the whole story,” he said. “Gideon also took a large amount of money from outside of Maine, and they are going to be expecting something for it.”