Philip Blumel: Kansas passes the term limits convention bill. Boom. Hi, I’m Philip Blumel. Welcome to No Uncertain Terms, the official podcast of the term limits movement. This is episode number 281, published on March 9, 2026.
Stacey Selleck: Your sanctuary from partisan politics.
Philip Blumel: Yes, that’s right. On March 5, Kansas officially became the 13th state to officially apply for an amendment proposing convention limited to the subject of congressional term limits. The Senate approved the resolution with a bipartisan 30-8 vote. The Kansas House had approved it earlier in the month. So the term limits steamroller continues to roll on. As you know, 34 states are required to trigger an amendment proposing convention under Article 5 of the US Constitution. Although we’re confident that Congress will act before that threshold is met. We’ll have Aaron Dukette on the podcast a little later to explain how we can be so confident of that. With number 13 in the books, several states are in the running to become state number 14. These include Arizona and Georgia, both of which have already passed the term limits convention application in one of its two chambers. The bill is currently advancing in the other. There has also been breakthrough progress in New Hampshire. We’ve been working on New Hampshire for a couple years and for whatever reason, we just haven’t gotten to first base. It wasn’t from lack of public support, of course. Our most recent polling in New Hampshire shows 84% support. In any case, long story, we couldn’t get a vote.
Philip Blumel: But this year is different. In February, the New Hampshire House State-Federal Relations and Veterans Affairs Committee passed House Concurrent Resolution 13, the term limits convention bill. The effort is being led by Representative Joe Alexander. This is our first committee win in the New Hampshire House and we only need one. The next step is a floor vote in the New Hampshire House this Friday. That is March 13th. So what changed? Well, there’s more than one reason, but one important one really should be mentioned. The US term limits pledge program. We saw this in Kansas and in other states as well. Sometimes I’m asked how US term limits chooses which states to focus on. Well, one important thing we look for is the number of legislators in the state that have signed the US term limits state-level term limits pledge. This is the one that commits the signer, a legislator or legislative candidate to office, to “co-sponsor, vote for, and defend the term limits convention application” in their state. In Kansas, that number got up to 85 signers. In New Hampshire, which we’ll talk about in a second, the number is over 150.
Philip Blumel: In fact, nationwide, almost 25% of all state legislators have signed the pledge and that number continues to grow. How did that happen? Well, I’ll tell you, it wasn’t by magic. Every election cycle, US term limits sends the pledge to every legislator and every legislative candidate in the country. Then the US term limits team follows up with these legislators and candidates with phone calls, personal meetings. They attend candidate events and they run into legislators in the hallways of the state capitals. It’s a massive effort. To those contributors listening, this is where a good portion of your money is invested and it’s paying off. Thank you.
Speaker 3: This is a public service announcement.
Philip Blumel: Another state on the move is Ohio. The term limits convention resolution is introduced in the Ohio State Senate and hearings were held last week. Among those who testified in favor was Congress member Representative Michael Rulli, who was once a state senator in eastern Ohio. He’s seen how the system works and doesn’t and made an insightful argument for the solution, term limits.
Senator Michael Rulli: Well, here I stand in front of you today, a former state senator and a current member of Congress. I would not be standing in front of you if it wasn’t for term limits. There wouldn’t have been a path for me to be here and serve my state if we didn’t have term limits in Ohio. And I feel that there is a place for every good citizen of Ohio to serve its state, whether it’s in the State House or whether it’s in Congress. But the question in front of us today is Congress. We have four or five members of Congress that have been in Congress longer than I have been alive. And I am not a young man. There is not opportunity for rising stars to go to Congress because there is forever term. You could go there for 60 or 70 years. We have five members that right now that are approaching 90. There is something for a seasoned politician to serve his country, but it shouldn’t be forever. And unlike the State House, there is no path for young people to go up. Bill Johnson was the congressman before me. Bill Johnson’s voting record was very similar to mine.
Senator Michael Rulli: There is no way I was going to primary Bill Johnson. I was either going to wait my turn or go back to the farm or run for a statewide. I was lucky enough that Bill Johnson stepped down and I had an opportunity. In my mind’s eye, that opportunity was never coming to me. I was shocked the day that they said Bill Johnson was stepping down from Congress. Today, this is the spirited beauty that I bring you today that we have to change Congress. And here’s the best thing. There’s all these parts of this bill that are put in there to protect different things. If you are a current member of Congress and you’re already elected, this does not apply to you. These are for future members of Congress. And the concept where people say there could be a runaway convention, there has never been a convention. The likelihood of that happening is zero. What we are here today to do is we are here today to nudge Congress to a way where they could start thinking about term limits like we have in the State House. Or perhaps if you do your term in the House of Representatives, you would be more than welcome to go over to the U.S Senate and then back to the House if you like. But right now there is no such parameters for that. So that is why I’m here today before you. So Chairwoman, on that note, I would take questions.
Philip Blumel: This episode’s public service announcement is a double feature. Also testifying last week was US term limits regional director Aaron Dukette. Among other things, Aaron answered those who are concerned or often claim to be concerned about the prospect of an Article 5 convention.
Aaron Dukette: Incumbent advantage is one of those problems, and term limits is the solution. That high bar of consensus is met among the public. 80% of the voters support term limits for members of Congress. Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Americans of all stripes overwhelmingly agree that an era of professionalization in Congress has sent our nation into dysfunction, stalemate and constant strife. Here in Ohio, both Democratic Congressman Greg Landsman and Republican Senator Bernie Moreno support the, excuse me, the reform. In fact, I’ve submitted to the committee letters from both of them in support of SJR6. While in Ohio and other states we have the true citizen legislatures, the representatives who live and work among those they represent, Washington is on another planet with entrenchment and lack of accountability. For this reason, Ohio and Washington are like apples and oranges when it comes to incumbency advantage. There are some who have concerns regarding convention, and there are plenty of people in good faith on either side of that debate. I’m here to offer you a third view which allows us to lay all that debate aside. There cannot, will not, must not be a term limits convention. SJR6 is a single topic resolution for term limits only, and that topic pertains directly to the livelihoods of all members of Congress.
Aaron Dukette: Later, when the states come close to 34 states, that threshold for calling a convention, Congress must step in to act to propose the term limits amendment themselves. And they will propose the amendment then for the very same reason that they won’t today: self-interest. As the framers knew, human nature could not be changed, but checks could be put in place to redirect the vulnerabilities of that nature. An Article 5 convention has never been called because the vast majority of cases convention calls have been single topic and the reforms with the most consensus around them had the rocket fuel required to pass enough states to invoke the prodding effect. Congress is prodded into preemptive action proposing the amendment to stave off a movement by the states to impose the amendment on them. The prodding effect occurred with the 17th, 21st and 22nd Amendments, among others. How much more will it be the case when term limits pertains directly to their own livelihoods? Only a Congress with a professional death wish would let the states do it. Their hand will be forced to respond to the will of the people expressed through the states, while likely grandfathering themselves in and retaining credit for proposing this wildly popular reform. Your passage of SJR6 helps us to help Congress.
Philip Blumel: Another reason for the accelerating success in New Hampshire, Kansas and elsewhere is our state chair program. Respected movers and shakers are recruited to represent US term limits in each target state. These individuals bring credibility to the effort, utilize their contacts in the Capitol, provide the media with a contact, and activists with leadership. As an example, former Democratic State Representative Linda Massimilla has just been tapped as co-chair in New Hampshire. She joins Republican co-chair Chuck Morse, the former Senate president. This bipartisan approach is another key to success. As Representative Massimilla is quoted as saying, “Polls show that one issue that unites all citizens, regardless of political affiliation, is the need for congressional term limits. Over 80% of Americans want congressional term limits enacted at once to bring true reform to our government and end the dysfunction of entrenched ways that we see in Washington, D.C.” Speaking of nonpartisan, the project is also being advanced by our new bipartisan national co-chairs, Republican Governor Ron DeSantis and Democrat former Representative David Trone of Maryland, the co-founder and co-owner of the Total Wine & More chain. DeSantis and Trone are both headed to New Hampshire early this week to discuss the term limits convention application with leaders of their respective parties. The floor vote to win the New Hampshire House is at the end of the week, March 13th. Keep your fingers crossed.
Stacey Selleck: Like the show? You can help by subscribing and leaving a five-star review on both Apple and Spotify. It’s free.
Philip Blumel: Thanks for joining us for another episode of No Uncertain Terms. The term limits convention bills are moving through the state legislatures. This could be a breakthrough year for the term limits movement.To check on the status of the term limits convention resolution in your state, go to termlimits.com/takeaction. There, you will see if it has been introduced and where it stands in the committee process on its way to the floor vote. If there’s action to take, you’ll see a Take Action button by your state. Click it. This will give you the opportunity to send a message to the most relevant legislators urging them to support the legislation. They have to know you are watching. That’s termlimits.com/takeaction. If your state has already passed the term limits convention resolution or the bill’s not been introduced in your state, you can still help. Please consider making a contribution to US Term Limits. It is our aim to hit the reset button on the U.S. Congress, and you can help. Go to termlimits.com/donate. Termlimits.com/donate. Thanks. We’ll be back next week.
Stacey Selleck: Find us on most social media at USTermLimits. Like us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and now LinkedIn.
