13 of those 16 are from east of the Mississippi. Anyone have any ideas on why?
Most Senators are from east of the Mississippi.
Actually, only 26 of the 50 states are east of the Mississippi. That's a majority but it hardly explains why 13 of those 16 Senators are from the east.
Many of the states in the West are very low in population and therefore Senators from those states have a much smaller base to work with as well as less democratic legitimacy in the Senate. No Senators from Vermont have run for President in the time period, either.
