On March 26, Tennessee SB 471 passed the Senate State and Local Government Committee with only one “no” vote. It provides that political parties would no longer nominate candidates for U.S. Senate by primary. Instead, if a party had members in the state legislature, the party’s legislators would choose that party’s nominee for U.S. Senate. Parties without legislators could use any method, although existing law already provides that newly-qualifying parties nominate by convention.
The bill is sponsored by Senator Frank Niceley (R-Strawberry Plains). An identical bill in the House, HB 415, by Representative Harry Brooks (R-Knoxville), has a hearing in early April.
As far as is known, ever since the 17th Amendment took effect in 1913, there has been no state with such a provision in place. The two most common methods of nomination, of course, are primary and convention, but legislative caucus is a third method. U.S. political parties used caucus nominations for President before the 1830’s.