for vigorous oration. He ran as a Republican and won election to the Fifty-fourth Congress, serving from March 4, 1895 to March 3, 1897. During his term his district was realigned by the Democratic controlled Indiana General Assembly, who created a gerrymander of his district causing him to lose his re-election in 1896. He launched a campaign for Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in 1899, but was defeated in the Republican legislature vote by Albert J. Beveridge. The election caused a major division in the state party, and progressive anti-prohibition candidates supported Beveridge, while the prohibition and conservative wing of the party supported Hanly. After losing the nomination, he briefly retired from politics. The split worsened following the election, leading progressives to split from the Republican party. Hanly went on a speaking tour around the state to build up support for another run for office. His speeches were fiery and often quoted Abraham Lincoln. Governor Hanly reentered politics in 1904, and won the Republican nomination for governor of Indiana. Hanly was elected Governor of Indiana, defeating John W. Kern by 84,364 votes. The election was hard-fought by Hanly, who delivered excoriating speeches against the Democratic party which he referred to as "unholy", and "great only its ability to destroy." He called their election campaign "selfish" and said they ran it only so they could "obtain the flesh pot of office." Hanly was considered a party maverick and he pushed his own agenda, rather than his party's platform, once in office. He pushed for what he considered major state reforms, accomplishing many of them. He crusaded against liquor, horse-racing and political corruption, even prosecuting members of his own administration for embezzlement. Using his popularity, he was able to have the Republican-controlled General Assembly pass legislation to ban gambling on horse races in the state and at the Indiana State Fair. He successfully reorganized most of the state government in an attempt to make the government bureaus non-partisan. He was able to successfully achieve his goal among the state's law enforcement, correctional facilities, and state-run charities. He also brought considerable improvement to the state's accounting methods. He required detailed expense reports to be created by all state employees seeking reimbursements, began regular audits of all spending, and with the support of the state treasurer, he began to establish new accounts by which the government could better monitor where funds were being spent,