As national politics heats up you may expect to see the local scene begin to take shape for the spring 2016 party primaries as filing opens on Nov. 14.

The party primaries always bring out hotly contested races, and the new year will not be any different with several top county offices on the ballot.

The first day to file with a political party is Nov. 14, with filing open for one month. Mari-Katherine Braswell is Montague County chairman of the Republican Party, while Kay Burnett is chairman of the county Democratic Party.

Potential candidates will file with the parties for a place on the March 1, 2016, ballot. Winners of the party primaries would then be placed on the general election ballot in November. Read who some of the potential candidates are and the incumbents running once more in your mid-week News.