The Elections I'll Be Watching on Tuesday

On Tuesday, anyone who reads this should be voting. It's your civic duty, and it's the least you can do to live in the most advanced nation in the world. With that said, not all elections are created equally. Some are purely about the personalities of the people involved. Some are about something more. For me, I'm watching for the elections that tell me more. Here are a few of my picks to watch-

• New Jersey Assembly District 38- Timothy Eustace and Joe Lagana face a well-funded Republican effort every two years to knock them off in this Bergen County seat. The always have won. This suburban New York seat tells us a lot about how the seat-rich NYC 'burbs are politically shifting each time.
• Pennsylvania's 37th Senate District- This special election in Allegheny County will tell us how tough Western PA really is going to be for Democrats in 2016. Sure, they should have an honest shot to turn around and win this next year if they lose, but the very idea of losing this close to Pittsburgh should be a worry.
• Virginia's 13th Senate District- Dr. Jill McCabe is challenging Republican Senator Richard Black in Loudoun County. This northern Virginia race could tilt the chamber back to the Democrats.
• Montgomery County District Attorney- If Commissioner and former DA Bruce Castor does not win this race, the Republican Party in Montgomery County officially has become irrelevant for the time being. First Deputy DA Kevin Steele is a strong Democratic candidate, but this is the last bastion of Republican strength in the county. 
• New Jersey Assembly District 2- This race has everything from local issues to national issues. North Jersey casinos and their impact on South Jersey has been a hot issue in this race. Planned Parenthood has been a hot issue in this race. This is a district where both parties currently hold one of the two seats, and both nominated an Atlantic County Freeholder for the other, so this is competitive. 
• Allentown Council- Write-ins never work. Right? Well, if they even are significant on election night, that tells us the damage to the Allentown political establishment from the recent FBI raids. 
• Virginia's 6th and 7th Senate Districts- These two southeastern VA seats could also decide the Senate. They also give us a clue about 2016.