 Kern was elected as Chief enrolling clerk of the State senate in 1892, and was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1898 to the Fifty-sixth Congress.In 1901, Kern was elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-seventh Congress, where he served from March 4, 1901, through March 3, 1903.He served as mayor of Belleville from 1902 through 1912, and served as delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1904, 1908, and 1912.