Chutes and Ladders: How Political Ambition Plays Out in Term-Limited Legislatures
Legislative term limits were a result of public frustration with long-serving incumbents. Term limits were intended to curb political ambition in the American states. Yet legislators, even in term-limited states, have lengthy political careers. Theories of political ambition, shaped by both institutional opportunity and member goals, need to be updated to include the diverse nature of term limits. This study relies on an original dataset to assess career ambition in term-limited state legislatures to uncover unique ambition patterns exclusive to states with divided/consecutive term limits. While term limits do not directly produce ambition, they do shape ambition leading members to pursue different avenues for elected office that were not present before the implementation of term limits. These findings support the theory that term-limited legislators are more likely to display political ambition than their counterparts in states without term limits. This analysis has important implications for understandings of political careers and how they are shaped by institutions, while shedding light on the debate over term limits.
Legislative term limits were a result of public frustration with long-serving incumbents. Term limits were intended to curb political ambition in the American states. Yet legislators, even in term-limited states, have lengthy political careers. Theories of political ambition, shaped by both institutional opportunity and member goals, need to be updated to include the diverse nature of term limits. This study relies on an original dataset to assess career ambition in term-limited state legislatures to uncover unique ambition patterns exclusive to states with divided/consecutive term limits. While term limits do not directly produce ambition, they do shape ambition leading members to pursue different avenues for elected office that were not present before the implementation of term limits. These findings support the theory that term-limited legislators are more likely to display political ambition than their counterparts in states without term limits. This analysis has important implications for understandings of political careers and how they are shaped by institutions, while shedding light on the debate over term limits.
Out With the Old, In With the Old?
Term Limits and Legislative Partisanship
Legislative term limits garner public support because of their promise to remove entrenched incumbents from office. There is often a partisan dimension to this appeal since “the swamp” that is to be “drained” has often been controlled by one party or the other for a lengthy period. However, it remains unclear to what extent term limits realign partisanship within state legislatures. We fill this gap by evaluating how legislative partisanship shifted after the implementation of term limits in 12 different state legislatures over the period 1996-2016. We find that initial surge effects of term limits did “level the playing field” between parties, but that the partisan effect evaporates over time. Our finding that long-term partisanship is stronger than the disruptive effect of term limits has important implications for our understanding of legislative term restrictions and provides insight into party strength at the state legislative level.
Term Limits and Legislative Partisanship
Legislative term limits garner public support because of their promise to remove entrenched incumbents from office. There is often a partisan dimension to this appeal since “the swamp” that is to be “drained” has often been controlled by one party or the other for a lengthy period. However, it remains unclear to what extent term limits realign partisanship within state legislatures. We fill this gap by evaluating how legislative partisanship shifted after the implementation of term limits in 12 different state legislatures over the period 1996-2016. We find that initial surge effects of term limits did “level the playing field” between parties, but that the partisan effect evaporates over time. Our finding that long-term partisanship is stronger than the disruptive effect of term limits has important implications for our understanding of legislative term restrictions and provides insight into party strength at the state legislative level.
Parties and Professionals, An Update to Turnover in State Legislatures
Legislative turnover is a tool that helps us to better understand not only how the legislature functions but what attracts lawmakers to serve. Building on early research from Alan Rosenthal, I explore three contributing factors to legislative turnover in a new light. I examine legislative professionalization, party control, and party competition to gain insight in how the legislature can shape turnover. I find that parties and professionals do have a spot in the legislature and tend to serve longer, except when they face greater district competition.
