He was employed as a clerk for a trust company and later engaged as an investment dealer. He founded the company Edward Stokes & Co.[4] He was an unsuccessful candidate for election to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1930.
Stokes was elected as a Republican to the 72nd Congress in 1931 to fill the vacancy caused by the death of George S. Graham and served until 1935. He was not a candidate for renomination because he was a gubernatorial candidate in 1934. He was again a candidate for Congress in 1950, and a candidate for mayor and councilman at large in 1952. He remained engaged in investment banking until his retirement in 1955.[1]