Portland Press Herald reporters spent time at the polls today to see what voters had to say. Here are some voters’ thoughts.

Leanne Buck, 52, who drives a school bus for the Yarmouth School Department, used her 15-minute break to walk over to the town’s polling place, the Robert W. Boyd AMVETS POST #2 on North Road.
Buck, an independent, marked her ballot for Cutler for governor. She explained that it was a strategic move, figuring Cutler stood the best chance of defeating LePage, whom she feared would cut school funding.
She didn’t have great things to say about Cutler, though. “He’s the least of five evils,” she said.
She also voted for Scontras because she’s concerned about Pingree’s relationship with her finance, Donald Sussman, a wealthy hedge fund manager.
“I’m afraid her boyfriend might influence her too much,” she said.

Dennis Blanchette, 50, of Yarmouth, who is not enrolled in any party, said he voted for Cutler because Maine needs an Independent governor.
“I’m tired of the Democrats and Republicans,” said Blanchette, who works as a nurse.
He said Angus King’s endorsement of Cutler influenced him to vote for Cutler.
He said he also he appreciated that Cutler ran a positive campaign. He said he didn’t like all the negative advertising this year.
“It was just ugly this year,” he said.

Sandi Stackhouse, 47, a self-employed seamstress in Yarmouth, said she voted for Cutler because he has a good command of financial issues. She also voted for Pingree, explaining that she seems to getting things done in Washington, DC.
“She’s done a decent job,” she said. “She seems to have the right buttons to push and knows how to push them.”

Joanna Tamminen, 73, of Yarmouth, voted for Cutler.
“He has the knowledge and connections from his past to maybe get some industry and jobs coming into the state of Maine,” said Tamminen, a retired teacher.
She said she appreciated that Cutler didn’t run any negative advertising. “He didn’t bad mouth anybody else,” she said. “He ran a very intelligent and forthright campaign.”
A vote for Cutler, she said, was “a vote for decency.”
A Republican, she voted for Scontras for no other reason than to add another Republican vote in Congress.

Carla Groves, 82, a Republican from Yarmouth, voted for LePage.
“I just want to give him a chance to prove himself,” she said.

Jo Shelton, 31, a Scontras volunteer from Yarmouth, said this is her first election in which she’s even gotten involved. She described herself as a “fiscal conservative and social independent.” She said wants to get rid of incumbents.
“Let’s drain the swamp and get out all the snakes out and start over again,” she said.
Shelton, who owns a small financial services business with her husband, said the Legislature has been spending too much money during the recession.
“Mainers dig deep and are hard workers,” she said. “We will pull through. We need to rein in our spending.”

Belita Bass, 55, voted for Cutler at the South Portland Community Center.
“I thought he was the lesser of the three evils,” said Bass, who described herself as a strong liberal who was compelled to vote despite a general dislike for all candidates.
Bass, who also voted for Pingree, said the state of the economy didn’t influence her decisions and she expressed a negative opinion of American politics.
“Most politicians have a degree of corruption,” Bass said. “This whole idea of democracy we talk about is pretty much a joke.”

Democrat Dennis VanPelt, 49, voted for Cutler even though he doesn’t see major differences between any of the candidates.
“It was a close call and I went with my gut feeling,” he said.
VanPelt, who also voted for Pingree, said the state of the economy didn’t influence his decisions.
“It will take some time for things to start to change,” he said.

Republican Chris Copeland, 49, considered voting for LePage but ended up marking his ballot for Cutler. He also voted for Scontras.
Copeland said government spending is one of his main concerns.
“It’s not necessarily a tax issue. We’ve got to be more of a watchdog on spending.”

Tina Gilman, a Democrat, said her vote for LePage was an “anti-establishment vote.”
“I looked at the other candidates, but I felt that if LePage went to Augusta things could change,” said Gilman, 43.
She called her vote for Scontras a vote “against anyone that has been in Augusta or Washington” and said Maine has been on the wrong track.
“We don’t manufacture anything in Maine anymore. We don’t use our resources. We out source all our jobs.”

Stephen Finnemore, 30, voted for LePage, who he called a “better representative for the business climate that I would like to see created in Maine.”
Finnemore, a Republican, also voted for Scontras and said sometimes it seems the state is headed backwards.
“I was voting for more conservative candidates to stop the foolish spending,” he said.

Democrat Doris Cote, 63, voted for Cutler.
“I like how his family has been involved in the community in Bangor,” Cote said.
“I like that he is for same sex marriage. I think he has a lot of the same values I have.”
Cote also voted for Pingree and said the economy played a large role in her decisions.
“I was really interested in how Cutler would use our local resources to help us. We need to get more people working in Maine,” Cote said.

Terry Andrews, a 66-year-old retired Democrat, said his decision to vote for LePage was influenced by newspaper and television advertisements.
Andrews also voted for Pingree and said he doesn’t care for Scontras’ remarks about veterans and the elderly.
And she said the economy is on his mind.
“My husband and I both retired, The cost of living is going up. I hope they are in there for us elderly people.”

Deanna Coro, 53, who is not enrolled in any party, voted for Mitchell because of her support for education.
Coro also voted for Pingree, who she called the “lesser of two evils,” and said she hopes whoever is elected will do more to support schools.

Ben Susla, a 51-year-old retired cabinetmaker, said he voted for Cutler.
Susla called LePage “an ogre, a bully,” and said Mitchell is too wishy washy.
Susla also voted for Pingree.

Democrat Leith Puckett, 37, a student, said he voted Mitchell, who he said has been doing a good job in Augusta and has the best interests of Mainers in mind.
He also likes Mitchell’s support of schools and her stance on same-sex marriage.
Puckett also voted for Pingree.

Sue Welch, 53, cast her ballot for Mitchell, who she said has supported the state’s education system.  She fears “substantial” education cuts if Mitchell isn’t elected.
Welch, a democrat, also voted for Pingree.

Democrat Buck Avant, 49, marked his ballot for Mitchell even though he really supported Cutler.
“I didn’t want the vote to be split,” he said.
Avant, who also voted for Pingree, said that despite the state’s struggles, he thinks Maine is headed in the right direction.
Avant said he holds Republicans responsible for the deregulation of the financial industry, which he thinks led to the mortgage crisis.

Paul Field, 46, a teacher, voted for Cutler.The Democrat said he is “frightened of LePage,” who he thinks lacks the temperament to be an elected official.
“I don’t believe anger is a qualification,” he said.
Field also voted for Pingree and said it will take longer than two years to fix the problems created by eight years of economic damage caused by Republicans and “corporatist Democrats.”
“I think they represent moneyed interests and I believe the moneyed interests won,” Field said.
“I still believe in what I voted for two years ago,” he said referring to his vote for Obama, “and I believe it needs to take time to work.”

Republican Mark Turcotte, a 39-year-old painter, voted for Mitchell.
“I just think there has been too many promises about changing the economy and they haven’t followed through,” he said.
Turcotte said the poor economy impacted his vote. He added that he thinks Maine should eliminate income tax.

Barber Foods employee Kris Hanson, 51, voted for Mitchell, who seems to “have a better plan than the other two.”
Hanson added that “Mitchell is the only one during the debate who said she would put money aside for bicycle and pedestrian projects.”
Hanson thinks the state has become too focused on tourism and gambling as means to economic development.
“I think you need some kind of industry here. You can’t just have service-sector jobs,” Hanson said.

Self-employed builder Jake Damone, 63, cast his ballot for LePage, who he called “the right person for the job.”
Damone, a registered Democrat, thinks Maine needs a change of course.
“It’s like Carter’s spending policies, with no plans for where the money is going to come from,” he said.

Sheri Bunting, a 59-year-old homemaker, voted for Cutler.
“He just seems down to earth and intelligent and would be easy for both sides to work with,” she said.
Bunting also voted for Pingree.

Paul Toulouse, a 58-year-old power plant worker, voted for Mitchell.
“She has the expertise and the experience to finally pull people together,” he said. “She fights for working men and women of the state.”
Toulouse added that he doesn’t think the state is headed down the wrong path, and he said the economy influenced his vote.
“There is no work in Maine for my trade at all. “I’ve been from Jackman to Japan, Boston to Bangkok to work.”