This last winter, the Iowa caucuses seemed to be at the front of all political importance, not only in Iowa, but in the U.S. After all the presidential candidates leave Iowa and after all the campaign offices close, most people want a rest from politics until they go to the voting booth in November. It is imperative that Iowa’s congressional primaries are not forgotten. On Tuesday, June 3rd, the congressional primaries take place. Unlike the caucuses, the primaries are a private vote. It is still a closed election wherein party registration or affiliation is required, but the vote is quick. There is no standing and counting and realigning, only casting a private vote for a congressional candidate. In our district, the 4th District, on the Democratic side, there will be four candidates competing for a chance to represent us in Washington D.C.; Kurt Meyer, Kevin Miskell, Becky Greenwald, and William Meyers. All of these candidates are competing for a chance to run against Republican Tom Latham for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. It is naïve to consider congressional primaries to be unimportant. Constitutionally, Congress has much greater influence over our everyday lives than the president does. Yes, the president makes many important foreign policy decisions, but almost all domestic issues are solved (or created) in Congress. Other than simply choosing who will have an influence in American law, voting in a congressional primary gives citizens a chance to choose who will represent them. A representative in the House is supposed to represent the area that they are from, hence why states are divided into groups. It is fruitless for one to complain about any national laws or national policies if one does not vote to have a say. These people in the House of Representatives represent your views, so have a say in what your views will supposedly be in Congress. On the Republican side, three candidates are competing for a shot to oust Tom Harkin for a U.S. Senate seat. George E. Eichorn, Steve Rathje, and Christopher Reed all hope to win a seat in the upper house of Congress. All these men claim to be ardent conservatives, and every column I have written has a very liberal swing, so I have doubts that any of my readers will participate in the Senatorial primaries. One of the arguments for why Iowa gets the first presidential competition of the election cycle is because we are so good at winnowing the candidates and finding out who the candidates really are. This is a tradition that cannot be for only presidential candidates. As Iowans, we must also ask the hard questions and get to know our congressional candidates. All of these candidates are easy to find and would love to talk to the voters. Be a good Iowan and go out and make sure the best candidate gets the nomination.