Dear Reader,

Consider this note an early version of the dreaded back-to-school essay, “What I Did Last Summer.” As some of you may have heard on Stay Tuned or seen on Twitter, I started a month-long project with my sons, ages 15 and 17. As the dog days of August were upon us and the boys had no camp or school, I wondered if we could conjure up a fun but educational enterprise for the month. Because they are both politically-interested and closely follow the news – competing in extemporaneous speech competitions during the school year – our thoughts turned to the election. After some thinking, I proposed they educate themselves about close House races and make recommendations that I would broadcast on my Twitter feed.

Importantly, I told them, I would put my money where my mouth is and make a donation to each of their picks. Before we could start, however, the boys insisted that we create a unique hashtag. Finally, voila: