Sunday, December 04, 2022

Senate elections are way too national


 (My new American Thinker post)

In a few days, we will know whether the Democrats have a 51-49 majority or we are back to 50-50.  In the meantime, we read about the costly campaign in Georgia.  So much money, or so they say:

Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock's campaign has almost three times as much cash on hand as Republican candidate Herschel Walker's heading into the final stretch of Georgia's runoff Senate election, according to new Federal Election Commission filings.

Warnock, who is trying to defend his seat in a tight race, had just over $29 million on hand as of Nov. 16. Walker, a former NFL player and favorite of ex-President Donald Trump, had over $9.8 million on hand heading into the final weeks of the election.

The filings show fundraising data for each candidate from Oct. 20 — days before the midterm elections — through Nov. 16. Warnock's campaign raised $52 million during that time period, compared with Walker's nearly $21 million, records show.

Do they have that kind of money in Georgia, or are outside interests writing checks?  According to Bloomberg, "Out-of-State Money Is Flooding Midterm Races — and Drowning Out Local Issues."

I thought senators were supposed to represent states, but it looks different.  They used to be chosen by state legislatures, but now they are like a presidential election, attracting the kind of national coverage, and money, that changes everything.

So maybe we should repeal the 17th Amendment and let the legislatures choose the senators.  I know that nothing is perfect, but the current system is too national rather than local.  After all, they are supposed to represent Georgia, not California.

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