[2] When U.S. Representative Patrick H. Drewry died in office, Abbit won the special election to fill the vacancy.

[3] He was a member of the agriculture committee, and supported farm subsidies as well as fiscal conservatism and opposed increased federal intervention in state affairs.

Abbitt became known for his opposition to school desegregation in the 1950s, supporting Massive Resistance alongside other Byrd Democrats.

Abbitt announced his retirement after being redistricted into the same congressional district as fellow Democrat Dan Daniel, and Republican Robert Daniel won the seat in a 5-candidate general election field, becoming the first Republican to represent Southside Virginia in the century.

[12] Having long since recanted his segregationist views, Abbitt endorsed L. Douglas Wilder, who became Virginia's first black governor in 1989.

According to his son, state delegate Watkins Abbitt Jr., he and his sisters played a role in his father's change of heart.