Adams settled in Duluth, Minnesota and started a law practice. In 1911, he was named special counsel for St. Louis County, Minnesota. In 1914 he was elected to his first term in the Minnesota Senate, a position he would hold for the next 22 years. While a senator he was an advocate for the Babcock Amendment which established the Minnesota trunk highways as well as causes related to transportation, taxation and education. He became president pro tempore of the Minnesota Senate in 1929 which meant that he became acting lieutenant governor after William Ignatius Nolan was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.[1][2]