Washburn ran for Congress as a Republican, winning election to the 38th Congress against no opposition. He was reelected four times, winning each time by wide margins. He was viewed as relatively moderate, in comparison to the mostly Radical Republican Massachusetts delegation. He served as chairman of the Committee on Claims during the 41st Congress. In 1871, Washburn ran for Governor of Massachusetts. The Republican Party was then dominant in state politics, and a number of well-known politicians vied for the party nomination to replace outgoing Governor William Claflin. Most prominent was the former Congressman and American Civil War general Benjamin F. Butler, who was disliked by the fiscally conservative state Republican establishment over his support for the continued issuance of greenbacks (currency not backed by silver or gold), and who frequently used populist tactics to upset convention proceedings. Butler's opponents eventually united behind Washburn to give him the nomination, and he won the general election by a 13,000 vote margin over John Quincy Adams II and a labor candidate. He was reelected to further terms in 1872 and 1873, the former despite dissension in Republican ranks that had resulted in the splitting off of the Liberal Republican Party, who fielded Francis W. Bird. The 1873 convention was particularly affected by the actions of Butler supporters, but Washburn prevailed and was again comfortably reelected. Washburn's three victories over Butler in these conventions marked a low point in the latter's career. The major event of 1872 during Washburn's tenure as governor was the Great Boston Fire of 1872, which destroyed of prime commercial real estate in the city on November 9. The legislature was called into a special session to enable the provision of state assistance. Measures it passed included a bill simplifying the establishment of insurance companies, since several were bankrupted by the blaze, and a bill authorizing the city to issue bonds to speed the rebuilding effort. 1873 brought a new round of state funding in the amount of $200,000 to fund the final completion of the Hoosac Tunnel, a tightening of the state's alcohol prohibition laws, and the establishments of a new prison in Concord (now MCI Concord) and a mental hospital in Salem. In 1874, Washburn signed legislation establishing a women's reformatory. Although Washburn was a supporter of women's suffrage, the matter was not seriously considered by the legislature during his term. He also supported legislation reforming