AUGUSTA — Even as thousands remained in the dark following a powerful snowstorm, officials said voter turnout appeared heavy Tuesday as Republican Gov. Paul LePage looked to fend off a fierce challenge from Democrat Mike Michaud to win another four years.

LePage and Michaud were locked in a tight race that appeared to be going down to the wire, with independent Eliot Cutler trailing in a distant third.

The three candidates continued to work right up until Election Day, making their final appeals to voters while workers scrambled to restore power to thousands of homes and potentially some polling places after a powerful storm swept across Maine.

Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap said five polling places had to be moved to new locations because of power outages, but the polls seemed as crowded Tuesday morning as they would be during a presidential election year.

He’s expecting statewide turnout to be as high as 60 percent of eligible voters, he said.

In Portland, several voters expressed frustration with LePage.

“We need to get LePage out of office. He’s doing nothing but hurting the state,” said Belinda Cummings, a medical secretary who voted for Michaud.

But others supported the governor.

“He’s not polished or pretty, but he’s done a lot for the state,” said Stefanie Chin, a small business owner. “He clearly cares about the people of Maine.”

In Augusta, Tobias Parkhurst said he voted for Cutler, even though he knew Cutler faced long odds, saying, “The moral thing is to vote for the best candidate.”

The candidates were getting some last-minute help from big-name supporters.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie wrapped up his campaign on behalf of Republican governors with a fifth appearance with LePage. In Portland, Christie described LePage as a candidate who wants the best for Maine and who “may say things in a way that are rather direct.”

Elsewhere, independent U.S. Sen. Angus King stumped with Michaud at the New Balance Factory in Skowhegan on Monday, calling him a “tenacious advocate for Maine.”

The senator threw his support behind the Democrat last week after initially backing Cutler, saying it’s clear the independent doesn’t have the support to defeat LePage.

“The people who have supported (Cutler), as I did, have a decision to make as to whether they want to cast what amounts to a protest vote or whether they want to cast a vote that will make a difference in this election,” King said Monday.

Cutler acknowledged last week that his odds of winning are long but said he has no intention of getting out of the race. He spent Monday touring businesses in Portland and was “campaigning through to the end and hoping to win,” his spokeswoman said.

The governor’s race wasn’t the only thing on the ballot.

Mainers also were deciding races for Senate and Congress, six bond proposals totaling $50 million and whether to end the use of dogs, traps and bait to hunt bears.

Utility companies were still working to restore power to tens of thousands of Mainers who were still in the dark after the weekend storm that brought high winds and more than a foot of snow to parts of the state.

LePage signed an emergency proclamation Tuesday that allows the workers who can’t get to the polls to vote remotely. Central Maine Power and Emera Maine together employ about 1,300 workers, most of whom will be able to download ballots online and then email or fax them to the Secretary of State’s office.

Questions were raised about whether the outages would affect voter turnout, but LePage spokesman Alex Willette said the campaign is confident that the governor’s supporters will get to the polls.

“I think people have seen the ads and we’ve made the get-out-the-vote phone calls, so I don’t think it will be that big of an issue for us,” he said. “We’re just worried about people staying warm.”

Michaud’s campaign agreed.

“We are doing everything in our power to make sure people know where to go vote and how to get there on Election Day, so we’re confident that our voters are more energized and more motivated,” said Michaud spokeswoman Lizzy Reinholt.

Associated Press reporter David Sharp in Portland contributed to this report.

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