For those races that won't get big headlines...

Not every congressional race is coming down to the wire tonight. In fact, the vast majority of House races will see someone cruise to victory without breaking a sweat. But that’s not to say that the work of these members of Congress should go without recognition.

Ed Pastor, the dean of the delegation, might not get a lot of headlines, but his style harkens back to the old school. He has an open-door policy with his Arizona constituents and promotes an air of someone who is proud to do the job.

Trent Franks understands the issues that are important to his district, which is evidenced by his hard work to attract the F-35 to Luke AFB. He also understands that the defense of the nation is job one. On a personal note, I’ve always admired Trent’s unabashed and unwavering support for Israel.

David Schweikert isn’t likely to “go Washington,” in his House tenure. This is someone who puts his nose to grindstone and in his short time in Congress has shined a bright light on America’s economic troubles. His scary Power Point presentations makes every day a fiscal Halloween. It wouldn’t have been terrible to put David on during the Republican National Convention in primetime so folks at home could get a look at how perilous our perch on this fiscal cliff is. David takes job creation seriously, having lent a helping hand in attracting Silicon Valley Bank to Arizona.

Paul Gosar will be the new congressman from the huge new western Arizona district. His new constituents will come to know an earnest, hardworking congressman who brings an insight into the healthcare field few of his colleagues have. And we all owe Dr. Gosar a debt of gratitude for saving the U.S. House of Representatives from Ron Gould.

Finally, though he won’t be returning, Ben Quayle deserves a cheer for his enthusiastic embrace of free market principles during his time in Congress. Having had the chance to chair Ben’s economic advisory group, I got to see up close someone who understands that lower taxes, fewer regulations and more trade can be a powerful cocktail to help right our country’s ship.

Ben is also a member of one of our country’s great political families. I once was seated next to former Vice-President Dan Quayle on a flight. I only bugged him a few times as he worked his way through David McCollough’s 1776 and I likely flipped through another book about baseball. Several months later he was a speaker at an event I attended where he was asked about what he missed most about having served as vice president. “The plane,” he answered. I hope I didn’t have anything to do with that.