He served two terms as county attorney and later served as a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1889 to 1892. He led an unsuccessful campaign as a Republican candidate for the United States Senate in 1892. He was later elected as a Republican to the 53rd US Congress (March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1895). He was an unsuccessful independent candidate for reelection in 1894 to the 54th US Congress, and thereafter returned to the practice of law.