We have no presidential election this year to bring out the voters. No gubernatorial election, either, or U.S. Senate, or even State Senate.

But, in spite of the absence of so-called marquee races, this election season is bristling with excitement. For once, we have a breathtakingly competitive and compelling race for the 23rd District seat in the House of Representatives. We haven't been able to say that in decades. Many decades.

For, while we've had very good candidates challenging the Republican incumbents, those incumbents have never been in any real danger of losing. The district stretches across 11 upstate counties and is heavily Republican. This year, though, there is no incumbent, and we all know the enormous advantage incumbency confers.

John M. McHugh, the latest in a long line of GOP representatives from the North Country, is the new secretary of the Army. Some people believe President Obama reached across the aisle to nominate him mainly to give the Democrats a shot at finally winning the 23rd District.

Plattsburgh attorney William Owens, a political neophyte but a man with a rather prominent public profile, is the party's choice to wage the fight. To his good fortune, he had not one but two opponents: Republican Assemblywoman Dierdre Scozzafava of Gouverneur and Conservative Douglas Hoffman of Lake Placid. The reason this was good news for Owens was that the two opponents were likely to split the traditional Republican vote — as testimony to the quandary in which some Republicans find themselves, noted Conservative Republican Newt Gingrich has endorsed the far more liberal Scozzafava instead of Hoffman.

Then, Saturday, we learned that Scozzafava had been coaxed out of the race by her party, which saw the split within threatening to hand the election to Owens. For the first time in more than 150 years, this congressional district could send a Democrat to Washington. And that Democrat could live in the less populous eastern side of the district, the first time that would have happened in many decades. The Republicans hope to avert that calamity by rallying around Hoffman.

The race has attracted national attention, being that it's the only congressional contest of the year. If it doesn't attract extraordinary local attention, shame on all of us who make up the electorate. We have a local race with national implications and a slate of intelligent, informed, aggressive candidates — all the makings of an election capable of raising the pulse rates of voters.

Two other races have more regionalized fascination: In Essex County, voters will decide between incumbent Democratic District Attorney Julie Garcia and Republican challenger Kristy Sprague; and in Clinton County, the often ho-hum race for treasurer is enlivened by two long-time, well-known political operatives facing off: incumbent Republican Joseph Giroux and Democratic challenger Martin Mannix.

We hope that all this, along with many smaller-scale local races, will inspire you to get into that voting booth and fulfill your obligation. It's an obligation you should treasure.