Attorney general would drop primary for US Senate hopefuls

U.S. Senate candidates in Indiana would be nominated by the General Assembly instead of selected by voters in a primary if the state's top legal officer has his way.

Attorney General Greg Zoeller says a "soft repeal" of the 17th Amendment would revive the idea that U.S. senators are ambassadors of a state's government and not free agents.

"If they had to come back … and get renominated each six-year cycle, they'll be less likely to pass statutes that stuck it to states," Zoeller told The Times of Munster. "Would we have an unfunded mandate if they had to come back and explain it to members of the legislature?"

Zoeller's proposal is a twist on the tea party's call for a full repeal of the 17th Amendment. States' rights conservatives say that since the amendment passed in 1913, the federal government has come to view states as entities it controls instead of as co-equal sovereigns envisioned under the U.S. Constitution.

Shifting the nominating duties to legislatures could reduce the number of legal challenges stemming from federal regulations and unconstitutional laws, Zoeller said.

Indiana Senate President Pro Tempore David Long, R-Fort Wayne, said he is open to having the General Assembly or state party conventions pick U.S. Senate candidates.

Voters would still have final say on who represents Indiana in the Senate.

Indiana's next U.S. Senate contest is in 2016.