He was elected to the Georgia Senate in 1938 and served until he was appointed secretary of state by Governor Ellis Arnall in February 1946 to fill the unexpired term of John B. Wilson.

[2] He died on May 19, 1979, at the age of 74 at his home in Atlanta (DeKalb County) from heart failure.

After funeral services in the rotunda of the state Capitol, he was buried at Resthaven Cemetery in Wilkes County, Georgia.

Another accomplishment Fortson had while he was in office was the custom of giving information on Georgia history to teachers and allowing children to visit the Capitol.

[2] At one point there was a report that he was going to move up in office until he said that "Secretary of state is a fascinating job, not like being governor,"[2] revealing that he was running for another re-election.

Eugene Talmadge was elected to be the next governor of Georgia, but he fell ill and died before he was inaugurated.