The first presidential debate of 2016 became the most-watched in our nation’s history.

But what about my local representation?

California’s 49th Congressional District includes the following cities: Encinitas, Carlsbad, Vista and Oceanside.

Republican Darrell Issa has represented this district for over a decade.

The polls estimates a safe Republican victory, but polls from the California Secretary of State on the California primary reveal Democrat Douglas Applegate is trailing behind Issa by less than 6 percent of vote — the closest any candidate has ever come to challenging Issa.

Applegate served in the U.S. Marine Corps for 32 years and gained experience as a businessman and civilian trial attorney.

Issa retired as a captain in the United States Army, earned a business degree from Sienna Heights University and rose to become CEO of Directed Electronics.

From his website, Issa says he believes parents should focus on their children’s education — not government bureaucrats. He believes in accessible federal resources and rewards for successful programs. He recently passed legislation for K-12 education to strengthen career and technical training.

Applegate’s website states that he believes in providing more resources to graduate students and investing in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math [STEM] programs. He wants to address rising tuition costs and make high education more affordable while helping community colleges and vocational training.

Benefits for the incumbent congressional representative show concrete examples of Darrell Issa’s support of our military and veterans. He did massive renovations to Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base.

Issa also supported increasing educational benefits for military and helped create the Domiciliary Residential Rehabilitations Treatment Program at the Aspire Center in Old Town San Diego. As head of the Oversight Committee, he held the Department of Veterans Affairs responsible for alleged wasteful spending.

Given the experience he gained from his service, Applegate champions himself as a true representation of our military and veterans. He seeks to further improve the veteran healthcare system, increase job market opportunities and, most importantly, save more veteran lives from suicide.

The political landscape (and writing this article) overwhelms me, but it doesn’t discourage me.

Our future depends on the leaders we elect to represent us.

Make informed decisions, speak to one another and continue to learn. Put away our nation’s outrageous presidential narrative for a moment and participate in your local community.