Tags: Election.
Some states elected their Senators directly even before passage of the 17th Amendment in 1913. Oregon pioneered direct election and experimented with different measures over several years until it succeeded in 1907. Soon after Nebraska followed suit and laid the foundation for other states to adopt measures reflecting the people’s will. By 1912 as many as 29 states elected senators either as nominees of their party’s primary or in conjunction with a general election.