After two unsuccessful attempts, Tonge contested the 1925 state election as the second candidate on the Labor list for the 5 member seat of North Shore.
[1] To avoid by-elections under the proportional representation voting system, the Parliamentary Casual Vacancies Act ensured that retiring members were replaced by the first unsuccessful candidate from their party list in their electorate.
In an attempt to make his majority more secure, Lang offered Kay the position as the consumer representative on the Metropolitan Meat Board.
With the end of proportional representation at the 1927 state election, Tonge successfully transferred to the relatively safe Labor seat of Canterbury, which was physically and demographically far removed from the North Shore.
He lost the seat to the United Australia Party candidate, Edward Hocking by 111 votes at the 1932 landslide that swept Jack Lang and Labor from power.