When Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected president, the Nov. 10, 1932 Peterborough Transcript reported that “the election found Peterborough in the Republican column, as usual, but, like in all other places across the state, the majorities were much smaller than in previous years.”

In Peterborough, President Herbert Hoover was the choice of voters by a 762-560 margin, and in spite of the narrowing vote counts, Republicans took all but one seat locally.

The one seat was Democratic state Rep. Martin J. Keenan defeating Forrest C. Mercer – by one vote. They were originally tied at 630 before Moderator George D. Cummings called for a recount, and then another, which gave Keenan his margin.