The profiles published today in the BND and at bnd.com mark the next phase of our coverage of the 12th Congressional District race -- a deeper look at candidates Paula Bradshaw, Bill Enyart and Jason Plummer and where they stand on the issues important to voters.

The purpose of today's articles is to give you information about the candidates' backgrounds. Who are these people? What are their interests? Why are they running for Congress?

In the weeks ahead, we'll publish articles about the candidates' views on the economy, the federal budget and spending, energy issues, the environment and the role of government.

While the 12th District race is a priority, our election 2012 coverage plans during the next month will include much more.

Here are some highlights:

* Profiles of 10 state legislative races in the region, focusing on candidates' positions on the issues.

* Profiles of key judicial and countywide races.

* Articles about issues in the presidential race from our Washington bureau.

* A BND voters guide packed with useful information about the candidates and the Nov. 6 election. BND subscribers will receive the guide with their Oct. 28 newspaper.

* A bnd.com voters guide that you can start using now at bnd.com/voters-guide. You'll find candidate profiles for state, local and congressional races, the Politics Notebook blog and a collection of other news articles about the election.

We will also, of course, continue to cover breaking campaign news through the Nov. 6 election.

This expanded coverage represents a considerable investment by our news organization, but we think it is well worth it considering the importance of the Nov. 6 election. We hope you do too.

As always, thank you for reading the BND and visiting bnd.com.

Jeffry Couch, editor & vice president of the BND and bnd.com, can be reached at jcouch@bnd.com or 618-239-2551. Follow him on Twitter @jcouch.