What is the term limit for a US senator?

Answer 1

There are none! Various states voted in the past to have term limits on the amount of time one person could hold the Senate seat. However that decision was overturned by the Supreme Court as being unconstitutional.

Answer 2

No. It is unconstitutional for states to impose term limits on US Senators and Congressmen.

In the case US Term Limits Inc., v. Thornton, (1995), the US Supreme Court held the states lack constitutional authority to change the qualifications for public office outlined in the US Constitution (Article I, Sections 2 and 3). Further, the Seventeenth Amendment (1913) provided for election of US Senators by popular vote, superseding Article I, Section 3, Clauses 1 and 2, that allowed election of Senators by state legislatures, and transferring this power to the people.

In 1992, Arkansas voters amended their state constitution (Amendment 73) to impose term limits on politicians limiting their service to three terms of office. The amendment affected not only state officeholders, but members of the US House of Representatives and US Senate, whose service is governed by the terms of the US Constitution.

Bobbie Hill, a member of the Arkansas Women's League of Voter's filed suit in state court to have the amendment invalidated as unconstitutional because the amendment imposed additional qualifications on Senators and Congressmen beyond those enumerated in the Constitution. The state held it had the right to add to the qualifications as a power reserved to it under the Tenth Amendment. The state courts agreed the amendment was unconstitutional, but the case was appealed to the US Supreme Court.

In US Term Limits Inc., v. Thornton, the Supreme Court held the states are prohibited from adopting state constitutional amendments or laws that effectively modify the US Constitution, and further, they could not handicap an entire class of candidates (those who had already served three terms) with legislation that "has the sole purpose of creating additional qualifications indirectly."

Case Citation:

US Term Limits Inc., v. Thornton, 514 U.S. 779 (1995)

Answer 3

No. Members of the US Senate and House of Representatives have terms of office, a fixed number of years they may serve before standing for reelection, but no term limits. In other words, they may be re-elected as many times as they and the voters choose.

House members, referred to as Congressmen/women or Representatives, serve two-year terms and are up for reelection every two years, on even-numbered years. Senators serve six-year terms and elections to the Senate are staggered over even years so that only about one-third of the Senators are up for reelection every two years.

Answer 4

Life time Term

2 year terms with an unlimited amount of terms.

Answer 5

unlike the president who stops at 2 terms, Senators can be elected for as many terms as they want

Answer 6

Senator's do not have a term limit they can run as many times as they wish, they have six year terms.