Twenty-eight states have now passed resolutions calling for a constitutional convention to impose congressional term limits, bringing the movement within six states of the 34 needed to force action. This represents the closest America has come to bypassing Congress entirely on the issue since the founders included Article V provisions for state-driven constitutional amendments.
The latest additions include Florida and Tennessee in late 2023, followed by North Carolina and Georgia in early 2024. Missouri’s legislature passed its resolution in March, citing polling data showing 82% of state residents support congressional term limits regardless of party affiliation. What makes this momentum particularly significant is the bipartisan nature of support at the state level, even as federal lawmakers remain resistant to limiting their own tenure.
Unlike previous grassroots efforts that fizzled out, this campaign operates with surgical precision. The organization U.S. Term Limits has provided model legislation to state legislatures, standardized the constitutional amendment language, and built a war chest exceeding $15 million specifically for the 2025-2026 legislative sessions in target states.
## The Mathematics of Constitutional Change
Article V of the Constitution requires 34 states to call for a convention, meaning supporters need just six more states to trigger the first constitutional convention since 1787. The target list for 2025-2026 includes Ohio, Virginia, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Iowa – states where Republican control of at least one legislative chamber makes passage feasible.
Ohio presents the most promising opportunity. State Representative Brian Stewart introduced HJR-5 in January 2024, which has already cleared the House Government Oversight Committee. With Republicans holding a 67-32 majority in the Ohio House and a 26-7 advantage in the Senate, the resolution faces minimal procedural hurdles. Governor Mike DeWine has publicly stated he would support congressional term limits, though governors play no role in the Article V process.
Virginia offers a more complex scenario. While Republicans control the House of Delegates 52-48, Democrats narrowly control the state Senate 21-19. However, Virginia Senator Chap Petersen, a Democrat from Fairfax County, co-sponsored similar legislation in 2023, suggesting potential crossover appeal. The Virginia resolution would need to pass both chambers in the same session, making timing crucial for the 2025 legislative calendar.
Wisconsin represents the wild card. Despite Republican majorities in both chambers, Governor Tony Evers’ vocal opposition creates political complications. Although gubernatorial approval isn’t required for Article V applications, Evers has used his platform to argue that term limits would diminish Wisconsin’s congressional influence. This opposition may influence moderate Republicans in suburban districts around Milwaukee and Madison.
The financial backing tells its own story. U.S. Term Limits has allocated $2.3 million specifically for Ohio, $1.8 million for Virginia, and $1.5 million for Wisconsin during the 2025-2026 cycle. These funds target digital advertising, grassroots organizing, and direct lobbying of state legislators. By contrast, opponents have raised less than $400,000 across all target states.
## State-by-State Battle Lines and Federal Pushback
The current 28-state coalition spans traditional red and purple states, but also includes some surprises. New Jersey passed its resolution in 2021 despite Democratic control of both chambers, driven by freshman legislators who campaigned on government reform. Michigan followed suit in 2022, with Detroit-area Democrats joining rural Republicans in a rare display of bipartisan cooperation.
Congressional leadership has responded with increasingly sharp warnings about constitutional conventions. House Speaker Mike Johnson called the movement “reckless” during a February 2024 press conference, arguing that a convention could spiral beyond its intended scope. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer commissioned a legal analysis warning that delegates might rewrite fundamental constitutional protections, despite clear legal precedent limiting convention scope to specific amendment language.
This federal pushback reveals genuine concern. Internal polling obtained by Politico shows that 71% of Americans support congressional term limits, including 87% of Republicans and 53% of Democrats. More troubling for incumbents, the support crosses demographic lines: 68% of voters under 35 and 74% of voters over 65 back the concept. Even in deep-blue districts, term limit support rarely drops below 45%.
The amendment language itself would impose 12-year limits on senators (two terms) and six-year limits on House members (three terms). Current members would be grandfathered, but the clock would start ticking immediately upon ratification. This means senators elected in 2026 would face mandatory retirement in 2038, fundamentally altering congressional dynamics within a generation.
## The 2026 Constitutional Convention Scenario
If six more states pass resolutions by early 2026, Congress would face an unprecedented situation. The Constitution provides no timeline for calling the convention once 34 states apply, but legal scholars agree that unreasonable delay would face immediate court challenges. The Supreme Court has never ruled on Article V convention procedures, creating constitutional uncertainty that both sides are prepared to litigate.
Convention logistics present their own challenges. Each state would send delegates, but the Constitution doesn’t specify how many or how they’re chosen. Current proposals suggest each state gets equal representation regardless of population, mirroring the original 1787 Philadelphia Convention. This would give Wyoming equal voice with California, potentially creating regional coalitions that transcend traditional party lines.
The ratification process would require 38 states, a higher bar than calling the convention. However, term limit supporters argue that states supporting the convention would likely ratify the resulting amendment. Their confidence stems from state-level polling showing consistent supermajority support even in states that haven’t passed convention resolutions.
Federal lawmakers have limited options to prevent a convention. Some have proposed competing constitutional amendments with longer term limits (18 years for senators, 12 years for House members), hoping to defuse state pressure. Others suggest that existing ethics reforms and campaign finance changes could address voter concerns without constitutional changes. None of these proposals has gained meaningful traction.
The economic implications extend beyond Washington politics. Congressional term limits would eliminate seniority-based committee leadership, potentially redistributing federal spending patterns. States with senior delegation members could lose influence over defense contracts, infrastructure projects, and federal agency locations. This reality has prompted business lobbying against term limits in states like Virginia, home to massive federal contracting industries.
## Clear Path Forward Despite Federal Resistance
The mathematics favor term limit supporters heading into 2025-2026. Six target states need just simple legislative majorities in chambers where Republicans hold advantages. Unlike citizen initiatives that face ballot access challenges, legislative resolutions require only standard committee processes and floor votes.
The timing also works in supporters’ favor. The 2025 state legislative sessions begin just weeks after the 2024 elections, when new members arrive with fresh mandates and fewer ties to congressional incumbents. Off-year elections typically favor motivated grassroots movements over establishment opposition, particularly on process issues like term limits.
Congressional term limits represent more than symbolic reform – they would fundamentally reshape federal power dynamics within a generation. Whether this constitutional convention materializes depends on just six more state legislatures, making the 2025-2026 period the most consequential for congressional reform since the 17th Amendment established direct Senate elections in 1913.
