 He was elected state representative in 1939, 1941, 1947, and 1951, and as state senator in 1949, all to two-year terms.Bass voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1960, but voted present on the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.After serving four terms in the U.S. Congress, he ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in a 1962 special election.