Lebanon
One of the earliest signs that Trump would fare better than expected in the Upper Valley came from Claremont, customarily a city that favors Democrats. Trump garnered 2,644 votes against Clinton’s 2,511.
Other New Hampshire towns in the Upper Valley that supported Trump included Charlestown, Newport, Sunapee, Croydon, Orange, Dorchester and Grafton.
“In the end, I voted for Trump and the thing that changed my mind was quite a few years ago, I thought the country should be run like a business and he is the best choice for that,” said Travis DeCamp, 40, at the polls in Newport.
“I’ve been watching the news. I don’t like Clinton. She’s crooked and her husband is crooked, should be in jail, both of them,” said Larry Heath in Grafton.
Heath, 81 said he hasn’t voted for a Democrat in the past 40 years, and has liked Trump’s promise to “Make America Great Again” since the Republican entered the primary.
Meanwhile, Clinton held out in Hanover, where she collected 6,561 votes to Trump’s 926 votes. She also performed well in the communities of Lyme, Enfield and Canaan.
“I really do think that’s she’s dedicated her life to helping American families, and I think she’ll continue to work toward policies that benefit the middle class and people who need it the most,” said Donna Ayres, an Enfield resident campaigning for Democrats outside Whitney Hall on Tuesday.
Across the river in Vermont, Clinton took all of the Upper Valley communities reporting by midnight with big gains in Hartford, Hartland and Norwich.
Clinton was widely expected to do well in the Vermont town. Trump’s performance on the other side of the river, a key battleground state in the presidential race, did catch many by surprise. Gains by Trump trickled down to the U.S. Senate race, where Sen. Kelly Ayotte was running with 49 percent of the vote around midnight, 2 percentage points over Gov. Maggie Hassan.
Republican Chris Sununu was also ahead in the New Hampshire’s gubernatorial race, garnering 50 percent of the vote over opponent Colin Van Ostern’s 46 percent, according to the Associated Press. Vermont Lt. Gov. Phil Scott was also expected to defeat Democrat Sue Minter.
At the polls, voters expressed support for Trump.
Gordon Nash, a Charlestown veteran and retired construction worker who said he is an independent, voted for Trump because of his strong stand against illegal immigration.
“I’ve said it before he said it,” Nash said. “Our country is being taken away from us. The foreigners are moving in and they want us to move out.”
In Claremont, Ward 2 voter Paul Livingston, a supporter of President Obama in 2012 who voted for Bernie Sanders in the primary, also went with Trump on Tuesday.
“We are screwed either way,” said Livingston, 28. “If we are going to start a revolution I think he can do it.”
Many voters also expressed dismay at the election, especially the polarizing effect it had on communities.
“I wanted Bernie (Sanders),” said Cadence Gosselin after voting for Clinton in Enfield. “I don’t even know why I’m here, but I don’t want Trump.”
Gosselin said the Republican nominee “creeps me out,” and said she was overall distressed by the election.
“I’m kind of disappointed in the whole process,” said her husband, Paul Gosselin. “I wish they’d just stick to the fact, and stop mud slinging and tell the truth.”
Elaina Bergamini, of Grafton, also said she wasn’t sure whether to vote for Clinton. The Dartmouth College employee also supported Sanders in the primary, but said she perceived Trump’s attitude toward women as too great a threat.
“I would love nothing more than to not elect an orange misogynist to lead our country,” said Bergamini, 40. “I am just horrified that he has got this far.”
Overall, the election was difficult for many small communities, who had to grapple with uncomfortable conversations and divided loyalties, according to Debbie Black, a Grafton native.
Black was outside Whitney Hall in Enfield on Tuesday holding a sign for her partner, Republican state Rep. Stephen Darrow, but also wearing a Clinton sticker. She supported Sanders in the September primary, while he voted for Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
“We had those two signs at the end of our driveway,” she said. “I think it caused a stir with the neighbors but we decided we were OK with that.”
Black voted for Clinton on Tuesday, while Darrow wrote in Kasich. While the two reconciled their separate political views early, Black said things were different with friends. She and her hairdresser both told one another they decided who to vote for earlier in the election season, but wouldn’t say which candidate they chose.
“That’s how difficult this has gotten to be,” she said.
In Lebanon, Republican activist Karen Cervantes said the elec
“… I woke up this morning and said to Raul ‘I am so disappointed that I, as a lifelong Republican, cannot support the head of my ticket,’ ” she said. “(Trump) said too much and it can’t be taken back.”
But Cervantes also worried about what would happen after the election, especially with wounds inflicted on both sides of the political spectrum.
“This is personally for me the worst election I have ever lived through and I suspect it’s the worst election in the history of the country,” she said. “It’s polarizing (and) I have never ever seen so much anger: anger toward each other, anger between the two parties, anger within both parties. It’s horrible.”
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.