Demonstrator Cathy Trauernicht of Potomac, Maryland, holds a sign that reads 'Term Limits For Congress' during a protest in front of the House side of the US Capitol on March 21, 2010 in Washington, DC. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

GOP Hit Harder by Term Limits

By Epoch Times Staff

September 14, 2010 Updated: October 1, 2015

biggersmaller

In state legislatures across the country, more Republican than Democratic officials will have to give up their seats because of term limits, according to Ballotpedia, a nonpartisan, nonprofit site which publishes political facts.

"In 2010, state legislative term limits are making the GOP's uphill climb a little steeper," said Geoff Pallay, Ballotpedia's state legislative editor. About 60 percent of state legislative bodies have Democratic majorities.

Term limits will force 375 officeholders not to seek re-election. Of those, a majority are Republicans.

Of the 15 states with term limits, 14 will have legislative elections this November. They are Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, and South Dakota. Louisiana has term limits but will not hold a state legislative election this November.

The difference between the two parties is not enormous.

“The GOP is losing more legislators than the Democratic Party in 13 legislative chambers, while the Democratic Party is losing more legislators than the GOP in 10 legislative chambers,” according to a Ballotpedia statement.

Ballotpedia operates a wiki-based political information website, open for volunteer editing, but with a full time paid editorial staff. It is based in Madison, Wisconsin, and funded by the Lucy Burns Institute (LBI).