WHILE MOST OF THE FOCUS on the Nov. 6 elections will be on the choice for president at the top of the ballot, there are other races much closer to home the outcomes of which will, in their own ways, have significant impacts on Cobb. Local voters will be choosing congressmen, a sheriff, a state senator, a school board member and a couple of state legislators that day.

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U.S. Reps. Tom Price (R-east Cobb) and Phil Gingrey (R-Marietta) between them represent about two thirds of Cobb County. And both have proven themselves in tune with local residents on most issues.Price has represented the 6th District since 2005 and Gingrey the 11th District since 2003.

In an era when legislators in Washington and most state capitols tend overwhelmingly to be lawyers by profession, both Price and Gingrey have the distinction of being physicians. (Price is an orthopedist and Gingrey is an OB/GYN.) Both face challenges from little-known local Democrats — and both deserve to be returned to Washington, where they would be reliable votes to implement Mitt Romney’s agenda should he win election.

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NEIL WARREN has served as Cobb’s sheriff since 2004 and has continued that department’s tradition, which dates back at least as far back as the days of predecessors Kermit Sanders and Bill Hutson, of no-nonsense law enforcement and a well-run jail. One of his first major accomplishments was persuading Cobb voters in 2005 to fund a $110 million jail expansion project that added 1,152 beds to that facility, which now can hold just over 3,000 people.

Warren also had the courage to be the first sheriff in Georgia authorized by Homeland Security to take part in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency’s 287 (g) program, which provides a way for deputies to identify illegal immigrants charged with a crime. Advocates for the “rights” of illegal aliens have pulled out all the stops to get Warren out of office and end that program — which should tell you all you need to know about the job he’s doing and what an effective tool 287 (g) is. It’s also one of many good reasons to re-elect Neil Warren as sheriff.

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THE RACE for the State Senate District 6 seat has been very hotly contested this year. Should it fall into Republican hands it likely would give that party a “supermajority” in the Senate, allowing that body to put constitutional amendments before voters without interference from the Democrats. Incumbent Sen. Doug Stoner (D-Smyrna) has deep roots in Cobb and has represented the district energetically through the years. His forte has been transportation-related issues, and he was one of Cobb’s strongest supporters of this summer’s failed TSPLOST referendum.

He is being challenged by Republican Hunter Hill, a West Point graduate who served three tours in Afghanistan and Iraq who now is director of security for SecurAmerica. If elected, he can be counted on to support his party’s low-tax agenda and its efforts to ensure that jobs in this state are not filled by those who are in this country illegally. He also is a supporter of a gift ban for legislators.

District 6 was heavily redrawn by the Legislature during reapportionment and now includes much of Buckhead and Sandy Springs. The demographics of the district now favor the election of a Republican, and in Hunter Hill, residents of that district have an excellent choice.

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REPUBLICAN State Rep. John Carson has represented northeast Cobb in the state Legislature since winning a special election last year. He is off to a good start and deserves a full term to demonstrate his abilities.

Meanwhile, in Fair Oaks just south of Marietta, Republican Phil Daniell is seeking to succeed longtime state Rep. Terry Johnson, a Democrat who chose not to run again. Daniell, 70, is a graduate of Osborne High and Southern Polytechnic Institute and is a retired building inspector. His Democratic opponent is a Cobb middle school teacher (although it’s hard to see how he could both teach school and be at the Capitol all day most of the winter during legislative sessions should he win). That opponent also has a history of incidents of alleged domestic violence that came to light during the primary.

Even without such considerations, Phil Daniell has far more to offer this district and deserves election.

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VOTERS in southwest-central Cobb also will be choosing a school board member that day. Incumbent Democrat Alison Bartlett is being challenged by political newcomer Brad Wheeler. Both are career local-school educators. Bartlett has pushed for a later school-start date and has been resistant to hiring teachers under the Teach for America program. Wheeler favors the balanced calendar and also is against TFA. Both are able choices and regardless of who is chosen, he or she will be helping run a system beset by severe budget challenges and faced with an uphill battle trying to persuade local voters to extend the SPLOST — without which the system’s financial problems would go from severe to near-catastrophic.

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EARLY VOTING has already started, and polls will be open on Election Day from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. See you there!