 Buel first ran for the United States House of Representatives in Michigan's 1st congressional district in 1846, but lost in a close election.In 1848, Buel was elected as a Democrat from Michigan's 1st District to the United States Congress for the Thirty-first Congress, succeeding fellow Democrat Robert McClelland who did not run.Buel served from March 4, 1849, to March 3, 1851.