During the tenure of Governor Eben Sumner Draper (first elected in 1908), divisions within the state Republican Party deepened, and tariff reform was one of the dividing factors. This position prompted Foss to bolt the party, and he bought his way onto the Democratic Party ticket as its nominee for lieutenant governor in 1909; the Republicans won the election by a narrow margin. In March 1910 he finally gained office, winning a special election to a seat in the United States House of Representatives, filling a vacancy caused by the death of William C. Lovering.