[5] He was the Justice of the State supreme court from January 1922 until his resignation on November 22, 1922,[2] when he resumed ranching and the private practice of law in Lewistown.

In 1932, Ayers was elected to the United States House of Representatives from Montana's 2nd congressional district,[6] defeating Republican Congressman Scott Leavitt.

In the general election, he barely defeated former Lieutenant Governor of Montana Frank Hazelbaker, the Republican nominee.

Dunn testified that he was told to supply the governor's mansion with food from Warm Springs, bringing produce meant for the hospital to Ayers' home on several occasions.

[8] When he ran for re-election in 1940, he only won the Democratic primary with a thin plurality, and was defeated in the general election by Sam C. Ford, a former Montana Supreme Court Associate Justice.