Chutes and Ladders: How Political Ambition Plays Out in Term-Limited Legislatures

​Term limits, instituted in the 1990s and early 2000s, were originally intended to curb political ambition in the American states. Since their implementation, however, scholarly research on term limits has declined. What research exists treats term-limited states as a homogeneous group, whose effects on political ambition are unclear. Using an original dataset, we analyze career ambition in term-limited state legislatures and find unique ambition patterns exclusive to states with term limits. We introduce a typology tracing ambition patterns to show that, across states with term limits, the type of limit, in conjunction with other institutional factors, shapes ambition. Our findings illustrate that term limits differ from each other, affecting political careers by redirecting ambition.
​Rethinking Retirement: Ambition in Term-Limited Legislatures

Term limits have recently become a popular subject of political debate. Our understanding of term limits, however, is still evolving. Using an original dataset, I assess retirement patterns across state legislatures to better understand how term limits alter career patterns. As Carey, Niemi, and Powell (2000) theorized, those who stay in office longer are more ambitious. The rate at which members retire is dependent on the type of term limit that a legislator faces, and the opportunities that the legislature presents. The decrease in retirement should indicate another, lesser known, pathway for ambition. I find that lax term limits encourage retirement, while strict limits encourage members to serve longer.


Be Careful What You Count: Term Limits and Turnover

​ Term limits have created artificial turnover pushing people out of office as soon as their term is up. Research on turnover, however, has reached a stopping point. In this note, I examine the rate of legislative turnover across state legislatures. I find that turnover appears to increase in term-limited states, but the artificial turnover produced can mask the true effects of term limits on legislative careerism. States with term limits can have deceptively high turnover rates, in reality, states with unified term limits see a decrease in turnover.