United States Senate

====Elections====
{{further|List of United States Senate elections}}
Elections to the Senate are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in even-numbered years, [[Election Day (United States)|Election Day]], and occur simultaneously with elections for the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]].<ref>{{USC|2|1}}</ref> Senators are elected by their state as a whole. The [[Elections Clause]] of the [[United States Constitution]] grants each state (and Congress, if it so desires to implement a uniform law) the power to legislate a method by which senators are elected. [[Ballot access]] rules for independent and minor party candidates also vary from state to state.

In 45 states, a [[primary election]] is held first for the Republican and Democratic parties (and a select few [[Third party (United States)|third parties]], depending on the state) with the general election following a few months later. In most of these states, the nominee may receive only a plurality, while in some states, a runoff is required if no majority was achieved. In the general election, the winner is the candidate who receives a [[plurality (voting)|plurality]] of the popular vote.

However, in five states, different methods are used. In [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], a runoff between the top two candidates occurs if the plurality winner in the general election does not also win a majority. In [[California]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]], and [[Louisiana]], a [[nonpartisan blanket primary]] (also known as a "jungle primary" or "top-two primary") is held in which all candidates participate in a single primary regardless of party affiliation and the top two candidates in terms of votes received at the primary election advance to the general election, where the winner is the candidate with the greater number of votes. In Louisiana, the [[Louisiana primary|blanket primary is considered the general election]] and candidates receiving a majority of the votes is declared the winner, skipping a run-off. In [[Maine]] and [[Alaska]], [[Instant-runoff voting|ranked-choice voting]] is used to nominate and elect candidates for federal offices, including the Senate.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brooks |first=James |date=December 14, 2020 |title=Election audit confirms win for Ballot Measure 2 and Alaska's new ranked-choice voting system |url=https://www.adn.com/politics/2020/12/14/election-audit-confirms-win-for-ballot-measure-2-and-alaskas-new-ranked-choice-voting-system/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210219222510/https://www.adn.com/politics/2020/12/14/election-audit-confirms-win-for-ballot-measure-2-and-alaskas-new-ranked-choice-voting-system/ |archive-date=February 19, 2021 |access-date=January 10, 2021 |website=Anchorage Daily News}}</ref>