[Verginius Rufus]

Romney probably could have gotten elected without the 17th amendment, if the choice had been up to the Utah legislature.

Salt Lake City is said to be about half non-Mormon nowadays, and the Salt Lake City metro area is a little over one-third of the population of the state. I don't know what the religious breakdown is of the state legislature but my guess would be a high percentage of Mormons, especially from the other two-thirds of the state.

[Amendment10]

"Romney probably could have gotten elected without the 17th amendment, if the choice had been up to the Utah legislature."

Thanks for that consideration.

Although the legislatures of several states show evidence of reconnecting with the federal government’s constitutionally limited power versus state sovereignty, because of Sen. Romney, Utah seems not to be one of those states.

Insights welcome.