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.
