[1] Starne moved to Pittsfield and was appointed Clerk of the Pike County Circuit Court.
He was elected Illinois Secretary of State in 1852, serving one term under Governor Joel Aldrich Matteson.
He was a delegate at large to the 1856 Presidential Election, supporting Stephen A. Douglas and John A. Quitman.
Starne became President of the Hannibal and Naples Railroad in 1856, moving back to Griggsville.
Starne was selected as an at-large delegate to the 1864 Presidential Election, supporting George B. McClellan, the eventual nominee.