Today is the special primary election for Massachusetts’ Eighth Suffolk Representative District.

How would I know that? And why was I so excited to vote?

For starters, F and I have met both candidates for our party–Jay Livingstone and Josh Dawson. They have rang our doorbell several times over the last couple of months. So have many of their supporters. They have left messages on our answering machine. They have hung tags on our doorknobs. They have slipped notes under our front door that say, “sorry I missed you!”

I don’t think I would have paid any attention to this election if it hadn’t been for the sheer energy of these candidates. With the stakes apparently so high for these guys, I felt obliged to cast a vote one way or another. But how? Their platforms are so similar. Livingstone got a lot of key endorsements, but Dawson eventually earned the Globe’s. Both nice people with sensible views. Happy smiling families. Both live in my neighborhood.

I’ve never seen an election like this. (Perhaps this is because I don’t live in a swing state.)

When I got home from work this evening, there were four messages on our answering machine: two from Livingstone’s volunteers, one from Dawson’s staff, and a final message from Dawson himself, mentioning me by name and saying that he would be honored to have my vote.

Well, Mr. Dawson, I am happy to say you earned it. I am disappointed to see that you may have lost this election. Best of luck next time.