An unexpected term limit effect.

• Author: Kurtz, Karl
• Position: TRENDS & TRANSITIONS - Brief article

For decades, the percentage of congressmen--both senators and representatives who have served previously in state legislatures has been around 50 percent. Today is no different. The proportion of former state legislators serving in the 113th Congress is 49 percent. What's interesting of late is that state legislatures with legislative term limits have a significantly higher proportion of former members in Congress than do states with no limits. Currently, an average of 57 percent of congressmen from the 15 term-limited states have state legislative experience, compared to only 48 percent from the other 35 states.

It is not hard to infer the reason. Legislators in term-limited states who want to continue their political careers are more willing to take risks, such as giving up their term-limited legislative seat, to run for other offices. They know they...