Voters in Marblehead and Swampscott will face a tougher choice than most Tuesday. In addition to the presidential primary there are Democratic and Republican contests in the special election to fill the 8th Essex House seat vacated recently by Doug Petersen.

While holding the legislative primaries in conjunction with the presidential contest makes sense both financially and in terms of getting the maximum number of people to turn out, voters should keep in mind that they must pick either a Democratic or a Republican ballot. That will create some frustration for those who might have wanted to vote in, say, the Republican presidential primary but support one of the two Democrats running for state representative, or vice versa.

Still, the district is fortunate to have four highly qualified people on the ballot. (The two party nominees will then face each other and independent Mark Barry, a lawyer from Marblehead, in the March 4 final election.)

On the Democratic side, our preference is for Lori Ehrlich of Marblehead. Her long history of effective environmental activism has earned her a place at the table in both the Romney and Patrick administrations. A co-founder of HealthLink, she helped turn that organization into a respected voice on issues ranging from the burning of coal at Salem Harbor Station to the Wenham Lake cleanup.

Republicans would give themselves a good shot at competing for this seat by nominating John Blaisdell. A retired Marblehead police officer, he has remained active in the community. A fiscal conservative, Blaisdell has the knowledge and negotiating skills essential to being an effective representative in a chamber that's dominated by Democrats.