A fifth contender in the Oklahoma State House District 35 special election has joined a national campaign advocating for congressional term limits in the United States, adding momentum to a movement gaining traction across multiple states.
Amber Roberts, who is standing in the special election scheduled for 9 December 2025, has officially endorsed the initiative led by U.S. Term Limits (USTL) — a non-partisan organisation that has long championed restricting the tenure of U.S. lawmakers. Her commitment follows that of four other candidates in the same race — Mike Waters, Travis Dillon, Kevin Wright, and James Winn — all of whom have already signed the group’s Term Limits Convention Pledge.
National Push for a Constitutional Amendment
The USTL initiative seeks to persuade 34 state legislatures to call for an Article V constitutional convention, the mechanism that allows states to propose amendments independently of Congress. The group’s goal is to introduce a constitutional amendment that would impose fixed limits on the number of terms served by both members of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The pledge text reads:
“I pledge that, as a member of the state legislature, I will cosponsor, vote for, and defend the resolution applying for an Article V convention for the sole purpose of enacting term limits on Congress.”
The campaign follows the precedent set by the 1995 Supreme Court case Thornton v. U.S. Term Limits, which determined that states cannot unilaterally impose term limits on federal legislators. The court ruled that only a constitutional amendment can bring about such change.
Leadership Perspective from U.S. Term Limits
According to Nick Tomboulides, Chief Executive Officer of U.S. Term Limits, the most viable route to achieving congressional term limits lies in securing support from the states through an Article V convention.
“The Constitution allows for amendments to be proposed by either 2/3 of Congress or 2/3 of the states. While we’d like for Congress to take the high road and propose term limits on itself, we know they are too self-interested to do that without external pressure,” said Tomboulides. “That is why it is important to get buy-in from state legislators,” he added. “Once proposed, the amendment must be ratified by 38 states.”
Tomboulides also underscored the breadth of public backing for such reforms.
“More than 87% of Americans have rejected the career politician model and want to replace it with citizen leadership. The way to achieve that goal is through a congressional term limits amendment,” he said. “These candidates know this and are willing to work to make sure we reach our goal.”
Polling Shows Strong Public Support
Public sentiment appears firmly behind the campaign. A recent Pew Research Center poll found that 87% of U.S. adults favour limiting the number of terms that members of Congress can serve. According to Pew’s analysis:
“An overwhelming majority of adults (87%) favor limiting the number of terms that members of Congress are allowed to serve. This includes a majority 56% who strongly favor this proposal, just 12% are opposed.”
Such overwhelming bipartisan consensus suggests that the movement to curb congressional tenure enjoys rare unity among American voters, transcending traditional party divides.
Implications for Oklahoma and Beyond
Although the Oklahoma special election will determine only one legislative seat, its significance extends beyond state borders. The collective endorsement of term limits by multiple candidates within a single race signals growing regional alignment with USTL’s broader agenda.
For USTL, this development represents another strategic milestone in building state-level momentum toward a constitutional convention. Should the initiative succeed, it would mark one of the most significant structural reforms to the U.S. political system in modern history — reshaping Congress into a body defined by rotational service rather than career tenure.
