What issues are most important to you?

We now know – including all Republican, Democratic and Libertarian candidates – one of the 18 who filed and two that submitted declarations of intent will represent New Hampshire's First Congressional District in 2019. And one of five candidates will represent us as governor.

What now? Do our research. Ask tough questions. Vote.

Be sure to mark Sept. 11 on the calendar, this year’s primary election date. After the primary narrows the field of candidates, the general election will be Nov. 6.

This year is a midterm election, and midterms are notorious for a significant drop-off in voter turnout. Nationwide, roughly 60 percent of the eligible voting population votes in presidential election cycles, while only about 40 percent vote in midterms. New Hampshire had the third highest voter turnout in the country in the 2016 general election, an impressive 73 percent. In the 2014 midterm election, that number was only 48 percent. We can do better, especially in a primary.

Members of Congress and our governor are elected or re-elected every two years, which means low turnout in a midterm can have an impact on who goes to Capitol Hill or occupies the corner office in Concord.

But before we vote, we should get informed on the positions of each candidate and educated on key issues facing our district, state and nation. We should take time to talk to as many candidates as we can and explore the policy ideas and platforms of candidates with different party affiliations. Each candidate will have information available via their websites, social media accounts and at events.

Local media outlets can be a valuable resource, with many already working to engage and interview candidates. For instance, political reporter Paul Steinhauser has spoken with most of the First District candidates and provided profiles that you can find at seacoastonline.com/topics/nh-congressional-candidates.

Then, we must ask tough questions on important issues and there are plenty from which to choose.

Seacoast and state voters have already expressed concern over a variety of matters, such as highway sound barriers, landfill cleanup, water quality, education, economic growth and state expansion of Medicaid – to name a few. There have been calls for solutions on more federally focused challenges related to health care, Social Security, immigration, domestic investment and growing budget deficits and national debt – issues in which I take both a personal and professional interest.

Did you know that annual federal budget deficits will soon reach $1 trillion and keep growing? Did you know the national debt is $21 trillion and climbing?

You might be interested to know both Medicare and Social Security are on paths to insolvency, with Social Security facing a more than 20 percent benefit cut in about 15 years if Congress fails to take corrective action. Each year Congress waits, reforms aimed at making those systems sustainable long-term become more costly and painful.

You will have opportunities to share your concerns on such topics with candidates, but I also want to know what issues matter most to you in this election.

As a community member of the Seacoast Media Group’s editorial board, I will have opportunities to question candidates during board meetings or even provide input on a candidate survey. Send me, via e-mail or social media, your top concerns and biggest questions that candidates should address. I will do my best to convey those messages and work to get you answers.

Not only is voting an important civic opportunity and duty, but citizens have the vital role of holding accountable elected leaders and candidates running for public office. “Elections belong to the people,” said President Abraham Lincoln. “It's their decision; if they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.”

We can influence the candidates' campaign narrative in a way that reaches beyond party lines and rhetoric. We can charge our elected leaders with tackling issues that matter most to us. And we should do our best to avoid getting burned. Research and engage candidates, ask tough questions and vote in September and November.

Chase Hagaman is a community advisory member of the Seacoast Media Group’s editorial board and New England regional director of The Concord Coalition, a nonpartisan organization that educates on the importance of responsible federal fiscal policy. Contact him with your candidate questions at HagamanForPortsmouth@gmail.com or through Facebook or Twitter.