What Are the Terms of Office for Representatives?
Members of the House of Representatives serve terms of 2 years. For consideration as House candidates, potential representatives must have United States citizenship over at least the prior 7 years, be no younger than 25 years old, and reside in the state they wish to represent upon election.
Elected officials in the House of Representatives, along with members of the Senate, comprise the body of Congress. Congress contains 535 members at any given time. Of that number, 435 members come from the House of Representatives, while the Senate has only 100 members. While a set number of House members exist nationally, numbers of representatives per state vary. House membership forms on the population of states. States with low populations send only one member to the House, while states with more citizens send additional representatives. Vermont, with a low population, has one representative in the House, while the more populous state of California has over 50. In contrast to House representatives, all states elect two members for the Senate. House of Representative members represent portions of their states, while Senate members represent entire states. Following election, House members serve for the standard period of two years. Voters may re-elect members to continue representation during even years. In contrast to Representatives, Senate members have longer 6-year election terms.
