Voters can choose between incumbent Charles Schumer and challenger Wendy Long, two diametrically opposed candidates, for U.S. Senate.

Ideologically, Long is a staunch conservative who supports Donald Trump, favors spending money on the military, says she wants the United States to take a tougher stance in the Middle East, wants to decrease regulation of small businesses, wants to revise the federal tax code, pledges to lead efforts to renegotiate trade agreements she says are unfair, wants to reign in the Environmental Protection Agency and pursue energy independence, reverse the course on Common Core and abolish the federal Department of Education. Her positions are almost the exact opposite of Schumer’s across the board. We give Long credit for running against an incumbent as firmly entrenched as Schumer.

While we don’t always agree with Schumer’s positions on national issues, one must be impressed with the way he is always available on local issues that range from NRG to watershed preservation to consumer protection. It is one thing to make visits to Chautauqua County and another matter entirely to grasp local issues and what a U.S. Senator can do to help Chautauqua County. It is ground Schumer has mastered and which the state’s junior senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, has not. Provided Democrats hold control of the Senate, Schumer finds himself in position to become Senate majority leader when Harry Reid retires. That position — and Schumer’s unwavering dedication to Chautauqua County’s issues — are enough for us to endorse Schumer for another term in the U.S. Senate.