Skip to content Skip to search

Republish This Story

* Please read before republishing *

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives Creative Commons license as long as you follow our republishing guidelines, which require that you credit The 19th and retain our pixel. See our full guidelines for more information.

To republish, simply copy the HTML at right, which includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to The 19th. Have questions? Please email [email protected].

— The Editors

Loading...

Modal Gallery

/
Sign up for our newsletter

Menu

  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Search
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships
    • From the Collection

      Changing Child Care

      Illustration of a woman feeding a baby a bottle
      • 1 in 4 parents report being fired for work interruptions due to child care breakdowns

        Chabeli Carrazana · February 2
      • Washington, D.C., offers financial relief to local child care workers

        Orion Rummler · September 20
      • As climate change worsens hurricane season in Louisiana, doulas are ensuring parents can safely feed their babies

        Jessica Kutz · May 5
    • From the Collection

      Next-Gen GOP

      Illustration of a woman riding an elephant
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • A banner year for Republican women

        Amanda Becker · November 11
      • Republican women could double representation in the U.S. House

        Amanda Becker · November 4
    • From the Collection

      On The Rise

      Illustration of three women marching
      • Can Cheri Beasley build a winning coalition in North Carolina?

        Candice Norwood · October 11
      • Los Angeles has never elected a woman mayor. Karen Bass hopes to change that.

        Nadra Nittle · September 8
      • Judge J. Michelle Childs is confirmed to D.C. appeals court

        Candice Norwood · July 20
    • From the Collection

      Pandemic Within a Pandemic

      Illustration of four people marching for Black Lives Matter with coronavirus as the backdrop
      • Some LGBTQ+ people worry that the COVID-19 vaccine will affect HIV medication. It won’t.

        Orion Rummler · November 23
      • Why are more men dying from COVID? It’s a complicated story of nature vs. nurture, researchers say

        Mariel Padilla · September 22
      • Few incarcerated women were released during COVID. The ones who remain have struggled.

        Candice Norwood · August 17
    • From the Collection

      Portraits of a Pandemic

      Illustration of a woman wearing a mask and holding up the coronavirus
      • For family caregivers, COVID is a mental health crisis in the making

        Shefali Luthra · October 8
      • A new database tracks COVID-19’s effects on sex and gender

        Shefali Luthra · September 15
      • Pregnant in a pandemic: The 'perfect storm for a crisis'

        Shefali Luthra · August 25
    • From the Collection

      The 19th Explains

      People walking from many articles to one article where they can get the context they need on an issue.
      • The 19th Explains: What we know about Brittney Griner’s case and what it took to get her home

        Candice Norwood, Katherine Gilyard · December 8
      • The 19th Explains: Why the Respect for Marriage Act doesn’t codify same-sex marriage rights

        Kate Sosin · December 8
      • The 19th Explains: Why baby formula is still hard to find months after the shortage

        Mariel Padilla · December 1
    • From the Collection

      The Electability Myth

      Illustration of three women speaking at podiums
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • Stepping in after tragedy: How political wives became widow lawmakers

        Mariel Padilla · May 24
      • Do term limits help women candidates? New York could be a new testing ground

        Barbara Rodriguez · January 11
    • From the Collection

      The Impact of Aging

      A number of older people walking down a path of information.
      • From ballroom dancing to bloodshed, the older AAPI community grapples with gun control

        Nadra Nittle, Mariel Padilla · January 27
      • 'I'm planning on working until the day I die': Older women voters are worried about the future

        Mariel Padilla · June 3
      • Climate change is forcing care workers to act as first responders

        Jessica Kutz · May 31
    • From the Collection

      Voting Rights

      A series of hands reaching for ballots.
      • Election workers believe in our system — and want everyone else to, too

        Barbara Rodriguez, Jennifer Gerson · November 8
      • Voter ID laws stand between transgender people, women and the ballot box

        Barbara Rodriguez · October 14
      • Emily’s List expands focus on diverse candidates and voting rights ahead of midterm elections

        Errin Haines · August 30

    View all collections

  • Explore by Topic

    • 19th Polling
    • Abortion
    • Business & Economy
    • Caregiving
    • Coronavirus
    • Education
    • Election 2020
    • Election 2022
    • Environment & Climate
    • Health
    • Immigration
    • Inside The 19th
    • Justice
    • LGBTQ+
    • Politics
    • Press Release
    • Race
    • Sports
    • Technology

    View All Topics

Home
  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Search
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships

We’re an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy. Read our story.

The 19th News(letter)

News from reporters who represent you and your communities.

You have been subscribed!

Submitting...

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

Become a member

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

Kathy Hochul addresses the media in New York City.
Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York is seeking term limits on some offices. “For government to work, those of us in power cannot continue to cling to it," she said. (John Lamparski/Getty Images)

Politics

Do term limits help women candidates? New York could be a new testing ground

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced her support last week for term limits for statewide offices, including her job. Some political organizers and academic experts see a potential ripple effect.

Barbara Rodriguez

State Politics and Voting Reporter

Barbara Rodriguez portrait

Published

2022-01-11 05:08
5:08
January 11, 2022
am

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

When New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced last week that she would support legislative efforts to install term limits on statewide positions, including her own, she framed it as good governance.

“For government to work, those of us in power cannot continue to cling to it,” she said Wednesday during her first State of the State address.

Hochul was alluding, at least partially, to her disgraced predecessor, Andrew Cuomo, who as part of a political dynasty served as the state’s attorney general before he was elected to three consecutive terms as governor. Cuomo resigned last year as he was being investigated for sexual harassment and mismangement. He has largely denied wrongdoing.

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

But term limits may have an added benefit: increasing women’s political representation in New York.

“Term limits in and of itself sort of incentivize more women to run,” said Samantha Pettey, an assistant professor of political science at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts who studies the effects of term limits in statehouses. “So if more women are running right off the bat, then you already have a greater chance of a female being elected.”

Hochul, whose ascension from lieutenant governor made her New York’s first woman governor, wants a limit of two four-year terms for the offices of governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and comptroller. She also proposed mostly banning those officials from receiving outside income while in office, another nod to Cuomo, who signed a multimillion-dollar book deal during his tenure. Hochul has proposed adding term limits through a constitutional amendment, which will require backing from lawmakers and voters over several years. 

Stories by experienced reporters you can trust and relate to.

Delivered directly to your inbox every weekday.

You have been subscribed!

Submitting…

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

Research shows that incumbency overwhelmingly influences reelection. Since men have long held a majority of elected seats at all levels of government, it has effectively created a cycle of men incumbents in American politics that can be difficult for first-time women candidates to break. Forms of term limits — including limits to consecutive terms or a more restrictive lifetime ban — can help disrupt that. 

“When it comes to incumbents, the majority of them tend to run and win,” said Rachelle Suissa, founder and president of Dare to Run, a national group that helps women run for all levels of office, including for seats in New York. “So if you’re a new candidate, whether you’re a woman or a man or a person of color, the reality is most likely you’re not going to win because the incumbent tends to win the race.”

In the Nevada legislature, term limits are partially responsible for recent gender parity gains, organizers said. The state has 12-year term limits for both chambers. 

  • More from The 19th
    A young girl is seen wearing a mask on a playground. Two other young girls are around her, back to the camera.
  • Girls are being socialized to lose political ambition — and it starts younger than we realized
  • NYC will have historic women-majority city council, likely led by a Black woman
  • ‘We almost lost our democracy’: How 38 women in Congress want you to remember January 6

But term limits, which gained popularity in some statehouses in the 1990s, have historically produced a mixed bag when it comes to women’s political representation. A study published in 2006 concluded that term limits in statehouses had “virtually no effect on the types of people elected to office.” Some statehouses with term limits still remain male-dominated. Women overall only make up a little over 31 percent of legislatures.

And states with term limits on governors haven’t always fared better. Virginia, which prohibits its governors from running for two consecutive four-year terms, has never elected a woman. (Former Virginia Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe sought the office again last year and received more votes than two women primary challengers; he lost in the general election.) 

Some recent examinations on the impact of statehouse term limits on policy making and demographics have reiterated previous findings. But Pettey challenged established assumptions about term limits’ effects on gender. She highlighted Nevada, and noted that a handful of other statehouses with higher representation of women in recent years, including Colorado, have term limits. 

“I think a lot of the research is dated, and because term limits aren’t like the hot topic these days, there hasn’t been a lot of newer research on it,” she said.

The effect of term limits on statewide offices is less understood in part because there are fewer women in those roles compared to a statehouse, according to Pettey. Hochul is one of only nine women governors in the country — and one of four who first reached the position through succession rather than election. 

It also may not take into account the evolution of women’s recruitment groups, which have prepared candidates when an elective seat opens up. Cynthia Richie Terrell is founder and executive director of RepresentWomen, which advocates for structural changes to help elect more women. She said more intentional organizing by such groups could be shifting what’s understood about what term limits could do for women’s representation.

“I see it as a reform whose time has come, in the sense that there are now groups that are ready to take advantage of those openings,” she said.

Council members clap for Adrienne Adams after she was elected speaker of the New York City Council
Adrienne Adams, speaker of the New York City Council, will oversee a body that is majority women for the first time in city history. (John McCarten/NYC Council)

In New York City, where the new 51-member city council is women-majority for the first time ever, organizations like 21 in ‘21 intentionally focused their attention on races without incumbents. More than 30 council seats were open because of term limits.

“Open seats were the only places that we chose to play, because those were the places that we knew there was tremendous opportunity,” said Jessica Haller, executive director for the group.

Sophie Nir is executive director of Eleanor’s Legacy, which helps elect Democratic women in New York who support abortion. She applauded Hochul’s efforts, though noted in the end it will impact just a handful of offices, since term limits on legislative seats are not part of Hochul’s proposal. But Nir sees another potential benefit — a change away from what she described as “ego driven power hoarding” in statewide office in New York. That ultimately could make behind-the-scenes government work more welcoming to women.

“That will allow opportunities for a real shift in the culture of Albany,” she said. “The cultural shift is what will empower women.”

Michele L. Swers, a professor of American government at Georgetown University, said the real impact from open seats created by term limits is more contingent on society addressing longstanding barriers to women running and winning elective office. That includes supporting them financially in primaries and allowing them to use campaign funds for child care. Swers, who has extensively studied women’s political power in Congress, noted some policy proposals that suggest candidates use campaign funds for income or health insurance, since seeking a high-profile seat can greatly disrupt a person’s livelihood and wages. That disproportionately impacts women, women of color and people from marginalized communities. 

“There’s a lot about campaign infrastructure that favors people who have money or connections to different types of political advisors that help them run a campaign,” she said. 

It’s unclear if Hochul’s proposal will get enough support to advance through the legislature. Political leaders have so far offered a mixed response, and its chances could hinge on Hochul’s own election bid.

But Haller noted the necessity of jumpstarting these structural conversations. She pointed to research that shows it will take the United States at least 200 years to reach gender parity.

“We need to disrupt the rate of change,” she said. “And that’s what 21 in ‘21 did. And the only way to do that is with something like a lot of open seats, which comes with term limits.”

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

Help sustain what we started

Your monthly investment is critical to our sustainability as a nonprofit newsroom.

Donate Today

Become a member

From the Collection

The Electability Myth

Illustration of three women speaking at podiums
  • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

    Candice Norwood · June 21
  • Stepping in after tragedy: How political wives became widow lawmakers

    Mariel Padilla · May 24
  • Girls are being socialized to lose political ambition — and it starts younger than we realized

    Barbara Rodriguez · September 23

Up Next

Speaker Pelosi and the Women's Caucus speak to the media

Politics

In 2022, a revived legal fight over the ERA takes shape

Equity-focused groups on Monday added their formal support to a lawsuit that essentially argues the ERA’s protections against gender discrimination are already a part of the U.S. Constitution.

Read the Story

The 19th
The 19th is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Our stories are free to republish in accordance with these guidelines.

  • Donate
  • Newsletter
  • Events
  • Search
  • Jobs
  • Fellowships
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Community Guidelines
  • Membership
  • Membership FAQ
  • Major Gifts
  • Sponsorship
  • Privacy
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram