Candidates for statewide office really, really want Warren County’s vote.

The county has been a popular stop on the campaign trail in recent weeks, with U.S. Senate candidates Dr. Mehmet Oz and John Fetterman making stops in the county recently. Bill McSwain, a Republican candidate for governor, stopped in the county in January. Jake Corman, another Republican candidate for governor, visited Warren County on Monday.

These are important races, and Warren County is a battleground area for a reason. Warren is an important population center in this area, with thousands of votes to be had. And who ends up controlling the U.S. Senate and the governor’s mansion are just as important here as they are statewide.

State government touches many aspects of our lives here in Warren County, and the person sitting in the governor’s chair wields enormous power over everything from the wages paid to local employees to the amount we pay for electricity. And watchers of national-level politics know the precarious situation in the Senate, where major policy matters largely hinge on two senators — West Virginia’s Joe Manchin and Arizona’s Kristen Sinema — who are either obstructionists delaying President Joe Biden’s well-considered plans or the last, best hope for a speed bump before Biden’s policies ruin the country, depending on which side of the political aisle one favors.

Your vote matters, Warren County. The presence of such high-level candidates is proof of that. It’s up to us to make it count.