The U.S . Senate race, won by Attorney General Kamala Harris over Rep. Loretta Sanchez, ought to be the end of the top two system.

The problems of the race weren’t unfamiliar; the contest followed a pattern Californians have now seen in our legislative elections for the last few cycles. The only difference this time was that top two failed in a high-profile way.

Top two was supposed to favor moderates. Instead, it favored the more ideological partisan in the race, Harris.

Top two was supposed to create competition. But nothing about the race was truly competitive. Harris had the most name recognition and the party label to advance in the first round and win in the second round. Both rounds were blowouts. And neither round really engaged California voters.

To the contrary, voters were so underwhelmed that more than a million decided not to cast a ballot in the race. Ballots are still being counted, but the undervote was well more than 10 percent—under a reform that was supposed to engage voters.

Unfortunately, this won’t be the end of top two. Ending it will require a ballot measure. And the next time an initiative could make the ballot will be November 2018, when California is selecting a new governor.

That race is already well underway because top two, with its emphasis on building name recognition and money, requires an early start before the June 2018 election. That governor’s race should be more interesting, but it’s also likely to produce another Democrat-vs.-Democrat second round rematch in November 2018 from the June first round.

Let’s hope that Nov. 2018 produces a ballot initiative, perhaps from the Democratic and Republican parties together, to eliminate top two. And let’s hope that the 2018 governor’s race is also the last big statewide race covered by top two.