As a state senator who represents an urban district in a populous state, I have developed keen insight into many of the responsibilities, policies and political complexities involved in running the country. I have a staff of only eight but the responsibility to enact a budget and laws that touch the lives of millions.

In this job, you come to understand the relationships among federal, state and local laws and how government provides education, civil and criminal justice, health care, tax policy, public transportation and social services like housing and child welfare. You need to do your own homework. You must be a generalist able to switch subjects at a moment’s notice. And you must keep up with a staggering volume of legislation.

A state senator also gets a clear view of how states make federal laws work. After Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act, for example, state legislatures had to pay for the new requirements it called for and establish new teacher certification, curriculum and graduation policies. When local schools don’t work or their budgets don’t balance or their testing rules don’t make sense, parents, teachers, mayors, school boards and county executives all go looking for their state legislators.

When Washington passed that really bad Medicare law in 2003 that prevented the government from negotiating prices with drug companies, elderly people turned to their state senators, rather than the president, to ask how they should choose between paying for medicine and paying rent or utility bills.

Being a good state senator requires being a great manager, because you must hire talented people who can accomplish Herculean tasks daily. It also means meeting with people constantly. In my district, I hear from everyone, everywhere — at lunch, on the street, in the supermarket, even at the movie theater (ideally, before the movie starts, but not always).

You must also be quick on your feet and able to make difficult decisions within an adversarial, partisan system. And you need to know where to turn when people need help — never losing sight of the best interests of your state.

Campaign and debate experience? In my state we run for re-election every two years.