1958, he announced that he would run for the Republican nomination in Kansas's 6th Congressional District, but was narrowly defeated by incumbent Representative Wint Smith by 51 votes. He ran again in 1960, but was defeated by county attorney Bob Dole by 982 votes. During the 1976 presidential election, Senator Bob Dole was selected as Ford's vice presidential running mate; had they won, it would have resulted in Dole's resignation from the Senate and a special election. It was speculated that Sebelius would be appointed to replace Dole. However, Governor Jimmy Carter won the presidential election causing Dole to remain in the Senate. Tenure In 1968, Dole left office to run for Senate and was succeeded by Sebelius, who served until 1981. In June 1969, he served in place of House Minority Whip Leslie C. Arends due to his absence and assisted Minority Leader Gerald Ford for one week. In May 1973, the National Federation of Independent Business named him Man of the Year for Kansas. On November 15, 1973, he stated that "I frankly believe the man is telling the truth" after hearing Richard Nixon speak about Watergate for over an hour. On December 4, 1973, he voted in favor of House Minority Leader Gerald Ford's appointment as vice president after Spiro Agnew's resignation. After the transcript of the Nixon White House tapes were released he stated that they "are depressing to read and give an unfavorable view of the President". When asked what he thought of the possibility of Nixon refusing to comply with the Supreme Court's ruling in United States v. Nixon he stated that "it would be damn close to an impeachable offense". He voted in favor of a resolution allowing for live radio and television coverage of the impeachment inquiry by the House Judiciary committee. Following Nixon's resignation and Ford's accession to the presidency, Sebelius voted in favor of Nelson Rockefeller's appointment as vice president. On April 25, 1980, Sebelius announced that he would not seek reelection to the House of Representatives and was succeeded by Pat Roberts, his administration aide. Later life On January 11, 1981, a banquet was held in his honor and received telegrams from former President Gerald Ford and President-elect Ronald Reagan. On this occasion the Norton reservoir was renamed to Keith Sebelius Lake in his honor and on January 16, he was named as a Distinguished Kansan of the Year.