Fun fact regarding Illinois.
Had the 17th never been implemented, the last time a Republican MIGHT have won a Senate seat would’ve been in January 1997 where the combined total of the legislature equaled a one-vote GOP majority. That would’ve been RINO Bob Kustra over Dick Durbin. However, you know that Durbin could’ve easily bribed a single Combiner RINO squish to have given him the seat.
Prior to that, not since 1981... and back then with the “Big House” and scores of fake Republicans occupying heavy Dem 3-member seats, the Dems would’ve prevailed then, too, with Alan Dixon. Before that, 1972 with the worthless left-wing RINO Chuck Percy (though as with 1981, he’d have had to keep fake Republicans from voting for Dem Roman Pucinski).
The last time that the GOP would’ve DEFINITELY gotten their nominee (barring chicanery) would’ve been in 1966 (Percy’s first term, although Paul Douglas, the incumbent, could’ve bribed members) and 1968 for Everett Dirksen’s last term, which would be barely a year. Senate appointee Ralph Tyler Smith might’ve been able to eke out a win for the remainder of the term in 1970, but again, just 3 GOP votes could’ve been enough to install Adlai Stevenson the 3rd in the seat with fake Chicago “Republicans.”
So, yeah, after the 1960s in Illinois, it’s pretty much a given (even with fleeting GOP legislative majorities on a rare occasion), the likelihood is that the last Republican Senator would’ve been out by 1972 or 1978 at the latest.
Thank you for the analysis.
Politicians are scum, this is known, I really don’t get the bizarre augments “um they will act in the STATE’s interest because um...it’s 1822 where I live and uh WOODROW WILSON”.
You know what we should do, projected the entire Senate, what it would be today without direct elections, each Senate race (like pretend they abolished it starting with the 2014 elections).
Thanks for that.
L
Without the 17th Amendment, things would have been even worse than you depict. You mention elections between the GOP and Democrat nominees that won popular primary elections, but if the state legislatures elected U.S. Senators they could elect whomever a majority of legislators wanted and there wouldn’t even be U.S. Senate primaries. For example, it wouldn’t have been Roman Pucinski vs. Chuck Percy in 1972; in fact, it wouldn’t have been anyone against anyone.