The 17th Amendment and the U.S. Senate Race

A common debate this year has been that of whether the 17th Amendment was a good idea or if it should be repealed. There are many arguments against the 17th Amendment, but perhaps the best is before us now with the current U.S. Senate race. Senator Kit Bond will be retiring at the end of the current term, and 18 candidates have filed for that spot. According to media and even local bloggers, however, there are really only two candidates who are vying for the seat – Roy Blunt (R) and Robin Carnahan (D). We have the 17th Amendment largely to thank for that.

No other candidate can compete financially with these two candidates. Conservative estimates say that the race will take over 10 million dollars to win. This is out of control.

According to Article I, Section III of the U.S. Constitution, “The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote.” This was the states’ way of protecting themselves against an overreaching federal government. According to the “Father of the Constitution,” James Madison, “The state legislatures also ought to have some means of defending themselves against the encroachments of the national government…And what better means can be provided than by giving them some share in, or rather make them a constituent part of, the national government?” The state legislature provided a check on the senators in DC.

With the ratification of the 17th Amendment, the states lost that power. Now, rather than U.S. Senators getting elected by proving to state legislatures that they will act in the best interest of the state, they are forced to raise tens of millions of dollars to saturate the television, internet and radio with advertisements promoting themselves and attempting to discredit their opponents.

So if the 17th Amendment were repealed and we were once again governed under the original intents of the Founders in the Constitution, and the Senator were being chosen by the legislators based on his loyalty to the state of Missouri, would Roy Blunt and Robin Carnahan still be the only two candidates that the media were willing to talk about? Probably not.