Assuming Kyrsten Sinema is the winner of the U.S. Senate race in Arizona, the Republican Party will have won only two U.S. Senate elections in 2018 in the western states. “Western states” means these thirteen states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
At the beginning of the United States Constitution, the Senate seats were divided into three classes. The seats to be elected in 1790 were called the Class One seats. Class One seats were the seats up in 2018. There are nine western seats in Class One.
The two seats that went Republican in the west this year are Utah and Wyoming. There are four western states that don’t have a Class One seat: Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, and Oregon.
Here is the number of seats in the west that the Republicans won in past Class One election years, since the beginning of popular election of Senators: 1916 two; 1922 one; 1928 two; 1934 two; 1940 one; 1946 five; 1952 five; 1958 one; 1964 three; 1970 two; 1976 four; 1982 four; 1988 five; 1994 five; 2000 five; 2006 four; 2012 four.
In the United States as a whole, assuming Republicans won the Florida seat and Democrats won the Arizona seat, in 2018 Republicans elected ten Senators out of the 33 regular elections. Republicans won four seats in the midwest and four in the south. Class One seats are notable for having fewer southern seats than the other two classes.
The senators who had shown up in 1789 (all but NY, NC, and RI) were assigned to four groups, with an eye to regional balance and making sure that both senators from a state were not in the same group. Lots were then drawn for the three groups. Class I were those whose initial term was truncated to two years (until March 3, 1791). Legislatures would ordinarily elect senators at a regular session. Whether this was in the even or odd year was dependent on the customs of the state. Legislative sessions were quite short, measured in weeks rather than years. The reason the Constitution provides for gubernatorial appointment of senators, because the legislature was not in session most of the time. If the vacancy was due to death or some other random event, the appointment might be for a few months, in which Congress itself might not be in session.
As new states were added, senators were assigned to keep the classes balanced. If N mod 3 = 0 (all classes equal), then the two new senators would draw classes by lot. If N mod 3 = 1 (one class with an extra member) then the two new senators will draw lots to be assigned to the other two lots. If N mod 3 = 2 (one class smaller) one new senator selected by lot, will be assigned to the smaller class, and the other will be assigned by lot to one of the other two classes.
That regional groups of states are clustered is coincidence. This is enhanced by the fact that any two states will always share at least one pair os senators with the same election.
We need to amend the Constitution to get more semi-parliamentary and get away from the eternal campaign. Three-year presidential term with eligibility to serve three terms not two, three-year House terms, and six-year Senate with one-half elected every three years in two classes.
The timebomb USA Senate was carried over from the fatal 1777 Arts Confed
— each State having ONE vote in USA 2nd Continental Congress and later A.C. Congress
— biggest or smallest
— almost FATAL
— often NO quorem
— NO State members showing up
— often paralysis votes
— Gen Washington forced to be a de facto tyrant in 1778-1781
— seizure of property to continue the USA Army/Navy in Am Rev War [later just comp cl in 5 Amdt].
Abolish the ANTI-Democracy minority rule USA Senate.
1791-1861 Free/Slave States admission machinations affected the time/term order of southern State Senate hacks.
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Parliamentary Systems = FATAL.
ZERO learned from 1933-1945 Hitler *parliamentary* regime.
Same top MONSTERS having legis and exec powers.
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PR and AppV
TOTAL Separation of Powers