After a year or two of this, he became a commercial traveler for a time, finally settling down to the study of the law.
After unsuccessful seeking the Republican nomination for the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin's 10th congressional district, narrowly losing to Nils P. Haugen, he was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate in 1898 to represent the 11th District.
He introduced the Mills Vessel Taxation Bill, "greatly benefiting the city of Superior".
[2] Later, as chairman of the joint committee on Appropriations, "his systematic business methods greatly reduced the expenses of public institutions and saved the State about a million dollars".
[9][10] Mills was recommended to be suspended for a year,[11] but nonetheless filed once again to run for a seat on the supreme court in August,[12] and shortly after his loss in that effort, was disbarred from the practice of law entirely.