With sunny skies, mild temperatures and bustling crowds, it could have been the Patriots' opening day.

But throngs of New Hampshire residents this morning rose before sunrise and braved the crowds for a different type of contest: the first presidential primary in the country.

Voters flocked to the polls at the Brookside Congregational Church in Manchester, where Republican candidates Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney had campaigned earlier.

And at the Broad Street Elementary School in Nashua, voters had to navigate a through sign holding volunteers to cast their vote at the spot John McCain had stumped earlier.

McCain, who received the first vote cast, is sharing an early lead with Democrat Barack Obama. But things are just getting warmed up, as the polls are open until 8 p.m.

Check in for updates throughout the day.

-- Journal staff writer Scott MacKay covering the campaign trail in New Hampshire, as told to projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson