Career
He was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives, in 1930, where he caucused with the Liberal Caucusin the then-nonpartisan body. In 1937, he was elected to serve as speaker, a position he held for two years. In 1946, Barker served as the second gubernatorial candidate after of the merger of the Minnesota Democratic and Farmer-Labor Parties into the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, losing to Luther Youngdahl.
