Fitzgerald served as a delegate from Michigan to the 1924 Republican National Convention at which incumbent Calvin Coolidge was nominated for President.

He was a delegate to the 1936 Republican National Convention, which nominated Alf Landon, who ultimately lost to Roosevelt in the 1936 General Election.

[4] Fitzgerald defeated Murphy in 1938, and joined John S. Barry as the only two people to serve non-consecutive terms as Governor of Michigan.

He suffered a heart attack after battling the flu and died[5] in Grand Ledge at the age of fifty-four, only two and a half months after retaking office.

In the city of Warren, Michigan, Fitzgerald High School was named in honor of the former governor on Ryan Rd.