 On October 27, 1864, Kitchen was elected to the 3rd and 4th West Virginia State Senate, serving two sessions in 1865 and 1866.In 1866, Kitchen was elected from West Virginia's 2nd District to the United States House of Representatives, serving in the 40th United States Congress from 1867 to 1869.Afterward, he resumed engagements in agricultural pursuits and stock raising and became president of the Agricultural and Mechanical Association of Berkeley, Jefferson and Morgan Counties, serving from 1869 to 1875.