Senator from New York, but due to a three-cornered contest with Clintonian John C. Spencer and Federalist Rufus King, no-one was elected.
In 1824 he was the Bucktails candidate for Governor of New York, but lost to DeWitt Clinton.
He issued a concurring opinion in Coster v. Lorillard that was remarkable for its attack on the common law.
At the 1844 Democratic National Convention, he was the sole vote of New York not to be cast for James K. Polk on the unofficial 9th ballot.
He was Chairman of the Barnburners state convention which met on June 22, 1848, at Utica, New York and nominated Martin Van Buren for U.S. President.