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Running Unopposed: Assessing the Impact of Term Limits on Competition in Florida and Maine
Author(s) -
PRIER ERIC,
WAGNER KEVIN
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
politics and policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.259
H-Index - 23
eISSN - 1747-1346
pISSN - 1555-5623
DOI - 10.1111/j.1747-1346.2008.00163.x
Subject(s) - competition (biology) , term (time) , legislature , state (computer science) , politics , public economics , political science , economics , business , law , computer science , ecology , physics , algorithm , quantum mechanics , biology
This research explores the implications of the adoption of term limits on elected officials in Florida. After exploring the historic assumptions and motivations behind the term‐limits movement, we test the assumption that term limits produce more competition for elective office. Using election data provided by the state of Florida, a multipronged examination is conducted to assess the consequences for legislative competition, as the implementation of term limits in the state. A comparison is also made to Maine, which was an early adopter of term limits. This research finds that competition has not increased. In fact, it has generally declined, and often sharply. The findings suggest that potential candidates, while influenced by local or national trends, wait for guaranteed open seats rather than challenge incumbents. Finally, alternative reasons for the decline in competition and the likely results of the long‐term use of term limits on the political system are explored.