Anthony was a delegate to Arkansas State Democratic conventions from 1964 to 1978. In November 1978, he was elected as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives and served seven terms, from January 3, 1979 to January 3, 1993. He lost his bid for renomination in the Democratic Primary runoff in June 1992 to Arkansas Secretary of State William J. "Bill" McCuen who lost the general election to Republican Jay W. Dickey due to a series of embarrassing incidents. McCuen received campaign funding from the National Rifle Association (NRA) due to Anthony’s support of legislation limiting so-called “Cop Killer” bullets.