Shortly after 4 p.m. Tuesday, Peterborough’s two Democratic state representatives were supporting opposing candidates at the Peterborough Community Center, as Peter Leishman was holding a sign for U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, while Jonah Wheeler was backing author and spiritual adviser Marianne Williamson.

Leishman had been at the center since about 7:30 a.m., while Wheeler arrived later in the morning. Both said turnout had been good throughout the day.

“It’s been pretty good, cold, but decent,” Wheeler said.

However, Leishman said he feared the Democratic National Committee attempting to move the New Hampshire primary to Feb. 6, after South Carolina and the same day as Nevada, and then referring to Tuesday’s vote as “meaningless,” would hurt Democratic turnout.

“The president never came to New Hampshire once,” he said. “Jonah’s candidate and my candidate have been here day after day. The other side has been doing the same thing,” referring to former President Donald Trump and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley campaigning in the state.

Despite not contesting the primary or being on the ballot, multiple news outlets called the race for Biden based on write-in votes.. While the Democratic party may decide to seat New Hampshire delegates at a later date, currently, there are no delegates assigned to Biden based on his win, making the win largely symbolic.

Behind Biden, Democratic candidate and U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips received about 19.5% of the vote, which would qualify him for delegates if they are given, and Williamson tallied about 4.6%.

Locally, Biden swept Monadnock region towns, mostly by large margins.

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Among Republicans, with more than 90% of New Hampshire reporting, Trump and Haley will be splitting a proportionate amount of the state’s delegates, with Trump in the lead.  New Hampshire splits delegates proportionally between candidates who receive over 10% of the vote, and of the Republican delegates available, as of Wednesday morning, Trump was projected to have 12, and Haley 9.

Trump did particularly well in the region’s Republican strongholds, including New Ipswich and Rindge. In New Ipswich, there were 1,193 votes cast for Trump, compared to 377 for Haley. In Rindge, Haley closed the gap slightly, but it was still a decisive victory for Trump, with 1,180 votes, compared to 472 for Haley.

Haley generally fared better in more Democratic-leaning towns, such as Wilton, where she had 402 votes to Trump’s 551. In Hancock, Haley won over Trump by a 265-201 count, and she beat Trump in Peterborough by a 747-545 margin. In Sharon, they tied at 59.

In multiple towns, a grassroots campaign to have residents write in the incumbent president had a presence, with “Write-in Joe Biden” the most-prevalent sign among campaigners outside polling places.

“It’s a little lonely out here. No one from any of the other candidates are here,” said Nanette Perrotte of Greenfield, who was campaigning for Biden outside the Greenfield Meetinghouse on Tuesday.

Kath Allen, also a Biden supporter, said with all the important issues in the country, the top issue is democracy.

“I just feel we’re voting for democracy versus non-democracy,” she said.

“We have to save democracy, and we need Democrats to support his candidacy,” said Nancy Bonell of Rindge, while campaigning outside of the Rindge Elementary School. “His experience, his knowledge, I feel he’s done a great job so far, and we need to talk more about that.”

Republican turnout was strong in the primary, with Republicans outpacing Democrats at the polls across the Monadnock region, in some towns by as much as three times. Holding a sign for Haley in Peterborough, Andy Peterson said he wanted to avoid a rerun of the Biden-Trump contest from 2020 and have a real debate.

“A better process yields a better result,” he said.

Peterson added that what makes New Hampshire special is that people get the chance to meet the candidates, and he hoped that a good turnout would solidify the state’s status as the first-in-the-nation primary.

“I just feel that this is the day every four years we get to write the news, not read the news,” he said.

Inside, Peterborough Community Center, William Sweet was working at the table where independent voters could return to undeclared status after pulling either a Democratic or Republican ballot. A former supervisor of the checklist for 36 years, he said the number of independents voting in the primary has been growing for years, and that former President Barack Obama’s first run in 2008 resulted in the highest turnout and number of first-time, same-day registrations.

“We put in several hundred new voters that day,” he said. “It was just different. There was a change in what people wanted, and they came to say what they wanted to say, and I think the same is happening today.”

It wasn’t just supporters of Republican and Democratic candidates who gathered on Tuesday. In Peterborough, Charles Stephens, Autumn McElreavy and Brenna Manuel were manning a table to collect petitions toward getting Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the ballot as an independent.

“We have very few choices in this election, and it’s pitiful,” Manuel said. “We should have numerous, well-qualified people running for president.”

Democrats now move on to the South Carolina primary Feb. 3, and Nevada, where the presidential primary is scheduled for Feb. 6. Republicans caucus in Nevada and the Virgin Islands Feb. 8 before their South Carolina primary Feb. 24. The next state where both parties vote the same day is Michigan, with its Feb. 27 primary.

Bill Fonda contributed to this story.