He served in the United States Army from April 18, 1941, to October 30, 1946, during World War II, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel.

[3] Breckinridge was elected Attorney General of Kentucky in 1959 when Bert T. Combs led the Democratic ticket to victory.

He was one of three statewide Democratic candidates elected while the Republican ticket, led by Louie B. Nunn, won the governorship.

He ran for lieutenant governor in 1971 but again lost in the Democratic primary, this time to the Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives Julian Carroll,[3] who was running on an informal slate with former Gov.

In 1972 Breckinridge was elected to an open seat in the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky's Sixth Congressional District (Lexington and the central Bluegrass).

He was re-elected in 1974 and 1976 but was defeated in the 1978 Democratic primary by state Sen. Tom Easterly of Frankfort, who in turn lost the seat to Republican Larry Hopkins.