Blake was elected as a Republican to the 36th United States Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Cyrus Spink, formerly Representative for Ohio's 14th congressional district.

He was not a candidate for renomination in 1862 to the Thirty-eighth Congress, but instead, with the Civil War raging, entered the United States Army in 1864.

After the war, he declined the appointment of Governor of Idaho Territory, resuming the practice of law and maintaining an interest in banking and mercantile pursuits.

He served as delegate to the Loyalist Convention at Philadelphia in 1866, and died ten years later in Medina, Ohio, on April 16, 1876.

This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress