Sorry, Scott: Choosing A New State After You Get The Boot Never Works

DANIEL STRAUSS – MARCH 14, 2014, 1:51 PM EDT

Former Sen. Scott Brown (R-NH) thinks he can do something we haven't seen in our lifetimes: represent two different states in the United States Senate.

On Thursday news broke that the former Massachusetts is forming a Senate exploratory committee, a step below him formally announcing his candidacy to replace Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) in the chamber.

Unfortunately for Brown, history doesn't seem to be on his side. According to the U.S. Senate Historical Office, only two senators have represented multiple states in the history of the chamber: Sen. James Shields (D) served as senator from Illinois, Minnesota and Missouri in the 19th century and Waitman Thomas Willey who represented Virginia and West Virginia roughly around the same time. Willey was a member of the Republican and Unionist parties. Shields was last elected in 1879 and Willey's last term ended in 1871.

"Quite often they were elected in the House in one body and to the Senate in the other or that sort of thing," Senate historian Don Ritchie told TPM on Friday. "But why did so many move around? Well the nation was on the move. In the 19th Century pioneers were moving west steadily and if you look at a lot of senators from the west they were born in Vermont or Ohio or whatever."

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