martin was re-elected to his district 24 seat two more times, in 1974 and 1976. this allowed him to serve in the legislature's regular sessions in 1975 and 1977 plus two special sessions, one in december 1975 and the other in september 1978. during this period, martin's republican colleagues in the state house of representatives elected him as their leader. because democrats held the majority of seats in house, he served as the house minority leader for four years.