 King served out Geyer's unfinished term, and was elected as a Democrat to the 77th United States Congress by a special election on August 25, 1942.Later that year, King ran unopposed in the November 3 election and captured 92,260 votes, 99.8 percent of the total.King served as a member of the United States House Committee on Ways and Means, beginning a commitment that he would serve during twelve of his following thirteen terms in the House of Representatives, excluding only 1947-1948, during the 80th United States Congress.