Is that when the State appoints the Senator? So they represent the State instead of a political party?
correct...prior to passage of the 17th, the state legislators voted and appointed the senators, that kept all elections local, as the person you sent to the state would be the ones appointing the people representing your state in the senate....once the general election of senators was made the law of the land, the political parties took control of what once was a state issue....
The Founding Fathers intended for the state legislatures to have their own representation in the Senate in order to keep government decentralized & as close to the people & local governments as possible (that’s my take on it anyway)...& the 17th totally destroyed that balance of power.
They will represent the political party in power in the State.