In 1977, the year after he retired as EKU president, Martin was elected as a Democratic member of the Kentucky Senate, taking office in January 1978 and serving through 1986.
He represented Kentucky's 22nd Senate district, which at the time of his election comprised Garrard, Jessamine, Madison, and Mercer counties.
He joined the U.S Army Air Corps in World War II and was a weather forecaster, achieving the rank of technical sergeant.
[6] In 1955, Martin was elected as the 30th Kentucky Superintendent of Public Instruction, winning with 432,410 votes (61.2%) against Republican candidate Verne P.
Bert Combs, for whom he had been campaign chair, co-chair and vice-chair;[9] and became the sixth president of Eastern Kentucky State College on July 1, 1960.
In 1965, the institution underwent major academic reorganization with the creation of five separate colleges and a graduate school which are still prevalent today.
[15] Following his retirement from Eastern, Martin decided to reenter politics and ran for Kentucky's 22nd Senate district seat.
In 1981, Martin ran for reelection and won the 1981 Democratic primary against challengers John F. Lackey and Marlene Bivins, winning with 7,144 votes (38.5%).