In 1946 Furcolo stood for election as a Democratic Party candidate for the 2nd Congressional District seat, running against incumbent Charles R. Clason. He lost by 3,000 votes, a narrow margin, in an election dominated in the state by Republican victories. In 1948, he again ran against Clason, and won by a comfortable margin, buoyed by the support of war veterans and organized labor. In 1950, Furcolo was challenged by Polish-American Republican Charles Skibinski, who sought to capitalize on the large number of Polish-Americans in the district in a campaign in which there were no major issues. Furcolo retained his seat, winning by more than 10,000 out of over 130,000 votes cast.