Prior to the Seventeenth Amendment, some senatorial candidates attempted to get elected into office by buying votes.
Explanation:
Until 1913, Senators were elected by the legislatures of the states and not by popular vote, which in many cases resulted in corruption cases, both by vote buying and influence peddling; in that year the Seventeenth Amendment was enacted, which established the senatorial election via direct popular election, thus eliminating corruption as a way to become Senator.
