Obama who? Romney what?

The year 2012 promises to be a big one in politics — and we're not even talking about the presidential contest. The slate is chock-full at the local and state levels, where the rubber really meets the road.

You might have read about the pledged and unpledged candidates for national convention delegate. (And, yes, the presidential contest is all about the delegates.) But there also are legislative and congressional hopefuls from both parties who met this week's deadline to file nomination petitions in Harrisburg. Lest they be overshadowed by that other race — we hear some guy named Rick is enjoying his 15 minutes — here's a scorecard of what's going on right here in your own backyard.

We'll start with big primary contests that do not include candidates named Newt or Mitt.

• Biggest local race: For state House, three Republicans are running for retiring state Rep. Tom Creighton's seat in the 37th District, which spans northern Lancaster County, including Manheim. They are Stephen Black, Mindy Fee and Barry McFarland. The GOP failed to endorse, meaning this race is wide open.

The winner will face Democrat Russell Stahley in November, who is unopposed in the primary.

• Biggest statewide race: For U.S. Senate, Democratic Sen. Bob Casey is up for re-election and will face a primary challenge from Joseph Vodvarka of Allegheny County.

The winner will take on the winner of a five-way Republican race between Sam Rohrer of Berks County, Steven Welch of Chester County, Marc Scaringi of Cumberland County, Tom Smith of Armstrong County and David Christian of Bucks County.

• Honorable mention: For attorney general, Democrats Kathleen Kane of Lackawanna County and Patrick Murphy of Bucks County will square off in April, and the winner will face David Freed of Cumberland County, who is unopposed in the primary.

There are lots of other Democrats and Republicans who are unopposed in the primary and will face each other in November. Here's a look at the fall contests.

• Biggest local races for federal office: For Congress, Republican U.S. Reps. Joe Pitts and Pat Meehan face Democratic challengers. In the 16th, which covers most of the county, Democrat Aryanna Strader of Kennett Township, Chester County, is taking on Pitts. So is independent Jim Bednarski of Manheim Township. In the 7th, which covers a section of eastern Lancaster County, George Badey III of Radnor is challenging Meehan. Both seats are considered safely Republican, but this is a presidential election year, so things could get interesting if GOP voters are less than enthused about their nominee and decide to sit out the election.

• Biggest local races for state office: For Senate, Republican Sen. Lloyd Smucker will face Democrat Tom O'Brien, a Democrat and former school board member from Manheim Township who is widely respected by his peers in both parties.

For House, veteran Democratic Rep. Mike Sturla will face a second consecutive challenge from Republican Thomas Garman in the city-based 96th District. In the suburbs, Democrat John Weigel and Republican Keith Greiner will square off for retiring Rep. Scott Boyd's seat.

All of these races are known as "down-ballot" contests because they'll be overshadowed by the presidential candidates appearing at the top of the ticket. But there's nothing boring about them.

Pay attention.

tmurse@lnpnews.com