The Town of Hillsborough is currently running a close second behind Washington, N.C. in a contest to find “America’s Coolest Small Town.”

Washington and Hillsborough are dominating the contest on the Budget Travel website. Topping a long list of contenders, Washington, N.C. has a total of 4656 votes, while Hillsborough has a total of 4,376 votes.

No one else even comes close. The third-place contender so far is Huron, Ohio, with 1,850 votes.

While Hillsborough Mayor Tom Stevens praises Washington for its coolness, he’s urging WCHL’s listeners to cast votes for his town.

“It’s just a great place to live, work, play,” said Stevens. “And most of the things that make it the coolest small town are just the things that people who live there do for themselves.”

Budget Travel is looking at towns with a population under 10,000 that can boast of stunning architecture, unique history, great food and shops, and thriving scenes in art and music.

You can vote here for Hillsborough until 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 2.

Website editors will the narrow the list down to 15, and voters will pick the winner from there.

The 10 finalists will be announced in February.

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