Term limits in Ohio: Which legislators can’t run to keep their seats in November?

The Ohio General Assembly is the legislative branch of Ohio’s state government and consists of two chambers, a 99-member Ohio House of Representatives and a 33-member Ohio Senate.

All 99 members of the Ohio House are up for reelection every even-numbered year and are limited to serving a maximum of four consecutive terms. Terms are considered consecutive if they are separated by less than two years. However, if a person is appointed to fulfill the rest of a term, this time does not count toward their maximum of four consecutive terms, thus members may serve in a chamber longer than eight consecutive years.

This year, 12 members of the Ohio House are term limited and therefore ineligible to run to represent an Ohio House district for two years.

Members of the Ohio Senate are limited to two consecutive four-year terms, and elections are staggered so that half of the seats are contested every even-numbered year. This year, there are five members of the Ohio Senate that are term limited.

Term limits are chamber specific and do not prohibit members from shuffling between chambers when term limited. Some current elected officials have moved between Ohio’s House and Senate for as many as 33 years.

Maps created by Community Solutions and our partners at Advocates for Ohio’s Future below show the districts currently represented by term-limited members that will be considered open seats – seats without an incumbent – in November’s general election.

Term-Limited Senate District Map

Term-Limited House District Map