For those of you who actually took the time to vote on June 9, thank you. As for those who didn’t, don’t complain — you had your chance.

The choices we face in November are of our own making. That is, if you did make it to the polls.

I’ve made it a habit to make my precinct the first stop on election day. Years ago, when I was working for an afternoon publication, I often was the first to pull the levers at the downtown poll.

Having been raised in a state where some years the general election seemed to be a waste of money after the field of candidates fell into place after the primary, it’s going to get very interesting in Hanover County in the coming months.

While the dynamics of the governor’s race, with Democrat Creigh Deeds going head-to-head with Republican Bob McDonnell, the state’s former attorney general, will certainly be the statewide race to watch. And let’s not forget this will be a rematch, after the two battled for the attorney general’s seat in 2005.

And talk about a squeaker. In what has been deemed the closest statewide race, McDonnell bested Deeds by 360 votes. An automatic recount gave McDonnell another 37 votes to win.

Incumbent Bill Bolling, a Republican and Mechanicsville resident, is being challenged by Democrat Jody Wagner.

Vying for attorney general are Democrat Steve Shannon and Republican Ken Cuccinelli.

As has been repeatedly mentioned here, the 55th District seat that opened up with Del. Frank D. Hargrove Sr.’s decision to retire stirred up plenty of interest with the Republican primary and now a Democrat has jumped into the political arena in pursuit of that seat.

Expect the race between the GOP’s John Cox and Robert Barnette, chairman of the Hanover County Democrat Committee, to be the one to watch. Now, that’s not to dismiss the state races, but this is a must-watch from a local standpoint.

And the race is on.