white was a delegate to the 1896 and 1900 republican national conventions. in 1896 he was elected to the u.s. congress representing the predominantly black second district from his residence in tarboro. he defeated the white democratic incumbent frederick a. woodard. the republican president william mckinley carried many on his coattails, but white also benefited because a democratic-populist fusionist candidate had drawn off votes from woodard. in addition, the 1894 legislature had repealed some laws which democrats had used to restrict black voting, and the turnout in 1896 among black voters was 85 percent.