Lawmakers: Term limit defeat has chance with groups' support

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota’s Republican legislative majority leaders on Wednesday predicted a possible narrow defeat by voters on a measure to impose term limits on lawmakers and the governor.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner and GOP House Majority Leader Chet Pollert told The Associated Press that an increasing number of organizations that have surfaced recently against the measure, which has helped offset a well-funded out-of-state group that got the issue on the ballot.

Wardner and Pollert, both of whom are retiring at the end of the year, were among GOP and Democratic lawmakers, business leaders, lobbyists and others who spoke out against the measure during a news conference at the state Capitol.

Wardner said that until recently, he believed the measure likely would be approved by a wide margin because of the efforts by U.S. Term Limits, a Washington-based group that has contributed more than $810,000 in the past two years to get the ballot proposal before voters.

Lawmakers and opponents have raised no money to combat out-of-state interests and have relied on social media, letters to the editor and word of mouth to persuade voters term limits are a bad idea.

Wednesday was the first large public gathering of the measure’s foes. No groups have contributed money to oppose the measure. No other large public gatherings are planned at present before Election Day, the leaders said.

Jared Hendrix, chair of the measure's sponsoring committee, attended the news conference and said the foes who showed up — including many lobbyists — were predicable and simply fighting to retain status quo.

Hendrix dismissed the argument that longtime lawmakers are needed to fully understand such things as budgets and tax policy. He suggested simplified budgets and...