He first served as an interim appointment to the Senate from 1953 to 1954, unsuccessfully sought re-election, and later represented the Cape Fear region in the House from 1957 to 1973.

[1] Lennon voted in Congress against civil rights and social legislation, although about half of the constituents in his district were African-Americans or Native Americans.

He said, "I never heard it said that Klansmen were subversive or affiliated with any foreign government to overthrow the United States."

In 1966, Lennon urged that North Vietnamese ports be bombed, and in 1967 he called for the Justice Department to prosecute Stokely Carmichael, the black activist, for making statements against the military draft.

Although he was a Democrat, Lennon campaigned for the re-election of Senator Jesse Helms, the conservative Republican, in 1978.