In Elko last month, Republican candidate for lieutenant governor Sue Lowden, backed a change to the way U.S. senators are elected. She agreed that the 17th Amendment to the Constitution, which provided for direct election of senators, should be repealed. That would turn the election back to state legislatures, which performed the task from Washington's presidency until the early 20th century. But why call for this change now? And who would be attracted to a plan that seems to stymie democracy?
Ross Baker, Department of Political Science, Rutgers University