In 1988, he ran for the New Hampshire Senate and defeated incumbent Jean White in the Republican primary.

[5] After incumbent Republican Congressman James Colgate Cleveland of New Hampshire's 2nd congressional district decided to retire, Bass entered the race to succeed him.

Charles Douglas III won the election but was defeated in 1990 by Democrat Richard Swett, who was comfortably re-elected in 1992.

Mike Hammond came second with 24%, Ward Scott was third with 20%, attorney and future New Hampshire Supreme Court Justice James P. Bassett was fourth with 14% and businessman Theo de Winter came fifth with 5%.

[7] In the general election, he rode the Republican Revolution to defeat incumbent Richard Swett by 51% to 46%.

Dana Albert came third with 3%, Robert J. Kulak came fourth with 2% and future State Representative Tom Alciere came fifth with 1%.

[9] In the general election, Bass was re-elected to a second term against former State Senator and 1992 gubernatorial nominee Deborah Arnie Arnesen by 51% to 44%.

[13] In 2004, he was challenged in the Republican primary by State Representative Mark Brady, whom Bass defeated by 71% to 29%.

[14] In the Republican primary, Bass won 75% to Berlin Mayor Bob Danderson's 13% and Mary Maxwell's 11%.

Ultimately, despite the Republicans making widespread gains, Bass defeated Kuster by just 3,550 votes – 48% to 47%.

"[27] He consistently voted for bills banning the practice of late term or partial- birth abortion, including H.R.

He voted against Republican amendments of the FY 2011 spending bill, which would defund many environmental protection measures, such as the modification of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), the designation of fossil fuel combustion waste as hazardous material, and the enforcement of mining regulations from the EPA.

He believes that the act will saddle "future generations of Americans with mountains of unsustainable debt" and, instead, advocates creating an interstate health insurance market to increase competition and form a larger risk pool.

[32] After losing re-election in 2012, Bass came out in favor of same-sex marriage as a signatory to an amicus curiae brief submitted to the Supreme Court during the Hollingsworth v. Perry case.

In March 2006, the company publicly credited Bass with setting up a February 2006 meeting in New Hampshire between its president, Steven Walker, and Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman.

In March 2007, Bass reported on his financial disclosure statement that he had bought shares in the company in January and November 2006.

[35] In 2009, Bass joined the board of directors of Laidlaw Biopower, LLC,[36] a developer of biomass power plants in the northeastern United States.

[37] Bass considered challenging Democratic incumbent Jeanne Shaheen in the 2014 Senate election[38] but decided against it.

[39] For the 2016 presidential election, he endorsed his friend and former colleague, Ohio governor John Kasich for the Republican nomination.