The Republican Party ran its first California gubernatorial candidate in 1859, businessman and railroad tycoon, and later Governor Leland Stanford.

In 1863, a constitutional amendment meant all of the seats of the Supreme Court of California were open for election.

[8] Running as a "union" party candidate at the height of the American Civil War, Currey was elected to the Supreme Court of California, taking his seat in January 1864.

Having served four years on the court, including two as chief justice, Currey lost the 1867 election to Royal Sprague and retired to his home in San Francisco.

[12][13] When the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire left him homeless he moved to his estate north of Dixon in Solano County, in the Sacramento Valley.