 He was actively involved in politics during Reconstruction; he served as a lieutenant colonel in the South Carolina State Militia, town postmaster, and elected member of the South Carolina House of Representatives (1872-1876).While in the legislature, Simkins was admitted to and studied at the University of South Carolina, from which he graduated in 1876.In that election, former slaveholder and Confederate loyalist Wade Hampton III narrowly won the governorship, largely due to fraud and intimidation.