It was 9 p.m. on Election Night and I was hanging out with Bruce MacDonald on an empty sidewalk in Damariscotta. MacDonald paced back and forth. He had just gotten off the phone with the Boothbay Harbor town office and learned he squeaked by with a win in that town, 694-651 votes. “That was a close one,” he said.

We were standing in the cold outside the Lincoln County Democrats headquarters while a warm, festive atmosphere brewed inside.  

Bright balloons and campaign banners festooned the campaign center as local volunteers, organizers and politicians eagerly awaited the county results. Children were darting through the crowd fixated on the big screen following the night’s races.

State Senator candidate Chris Johnson sat with a laptop scouring spreadsheets, as Mary Trescot munched on a croissant in the corner. Suddenly Mick Devin got up on the microphone to announce Newcastle’s results. The Democrats, Johnson, Trescot and Devin were leading by 53 percent in Newcastle. There was a boisterous uproar.

MacDonald was poised to claim his eventual victory over Republican challenger Stephanie Hawke, with just a few towns yet to report their total. There was optimism all around.

Johnson said he was feeling positive about the whole campaign process. He said if he were reelected, he would immediately focus on the pressing issues such as the working waterfronts, farming and fireworks issues.

Johnson would go on to win by fewer than 100 votes, with the total count 10,672 to Republican Les Fossel's 10,588.

In the background, supporters discussed how close the races were turning out. Casual conversations were interrupted by intermittent applause as another Democrat was declared a winner on the national circuit.

Mary Trescot, who just found out she was leading the county commissioner race in Newcastle by 397 votes; she was cheerful and said she has thoroughly enjoyed meeting all the new people on campaign trail. She expresses nervousness for the presidential election. Trescot went on to win in her race against Sheridan Bond by 843 votes, with a total count of 3,740 to 2,897.

Trescot said she if Romney wins, she believes he will appoint conservative justices to the Supreme Court who ill threaten women’s rights due to harsh regulation of abortion and birth control.

MacDonald headed back inside to join the gathering crowd. “I think we’re doing alright,” he said, sporting a grin. This year, he said he didn’t expect the race with Hawke to be this tight. By going around door-to-door speaking with Independents and Republicans, MacDonald said, “Almost every time when I get to talk with them, I get their support,” he said. MacDonald said he knocked on about 1,500 doors.

“A lot of people turned out; I didn’t get to all of them, but the one’s I did get to are 90 percent, ‘I’m going to vote for you,” he said. At 5 p.m. Boothbay reported an 80 percent voter turnout, something MacDonald said he had never seen before during his political career. MacDonald would go on to claim victory over Stephanie Hawke.

Mick Devin, who was currently leading in the race against Alan Pinkham, rushed around the room, speaking with supporters and frequently checking up on results.

“We’ve all worked hard on our campaigns,” Devin said, “I think by the end of the night, time will tell how effective we've been.” Devin eventually bested Pinkham by just 82 votes. The total count was 2,837 to 2,755.

The night continued on in uncertainty for some Lincoln County Democratic candidates, but as some walked away from the high-spirited late-night rally, the positivity was palpable.