Martin ran for Congress in 1960, defeating freshman Democrat Donald McGinley by a slim margin. He served as minority chairman of House Rules Committee and was also a member of the Education and Labor Committee. He was Ranking Republican on the Rules Committee in his last three terms. He cochaired with Rep. Richard Howard Ichord Jr. of Missouri the Select Committee on the Reorganization of the Congress in 1973-74. In 1974, he was a floor leader in the confirmation of Nelson Rockefeller, his Dartmouth classmate, as Vice President of the United States.
After leaving Congress, Martin became a member of the Nebraska State College Board and was a visiting professor. In 1980, he served as Nebraska chairman for the unsuccessful presidential bid of George H. W. Bush.
Martin died in his hometown of Kearney after suffering from pneumonia and a heart ailment at age 89.[1]
