He ran unsuccessfully as the Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor of New York in 1862. In June 1864 he was a delegate to the Baltimore Convention of the National Union Party where he placed the name of Daniel S. Dickinson in contention for the vice presidential nomination on the ticket with President Lincoln. He served as a member of the New York State Assembly in 1866, and was elected Speaker. He was a delegate to the 1868 Republican National Convention and placed Governor Fenton's name in contention for Vice President on the ticket with General Grant.