Park Street, Tupper Lake, as seen on Monday (Enterprise photo — Chris Gaige)

TUPPER LAKE — Mum was the word across town leading up to the presidential election. Of 18 people around Tupper Lake approached for an interview in several public locations throughout the village, not one wanted to publicly declare their voting preferences or which national issues were of top concern to them.

“Things are so toxic right now and I just don’t want to get dragged into the vitriol,” said one woman who lives in Tupper Lake. She declined to say, off the record, who she was supporting.

One man — also a Tupper Lake resident — cited views that he felt differed from most of his family and friends, although he declined to state what or who those differing views were in favor of.

“I love them, and they’re all good people, but I just hate arguing about this stuff,” he said, adding that he felt social media fans the flames of division among friends.

“Sometimes it’s just sad to see how worked up people can get,” he said.

Another man from Tupper Lake said he plans to vote for Donald Trump, but he understands the divisiveness he brings.

“Look, he’s a lightning rod. You either kind of love him or hate him, but you think something about him,” he said. “I kind of look at as I may not like everything he says, but he did good things for the country when he was president.”

Voters approached listed the economy, inflation, women’s reproductive rights and preserving democracy as their top concerns.