In 1906, he was elected as County Supervisor in Decatur.[1] He was re-elected in 1908 and 1910.[1] In 1916, he moved to Ames.[1] He was a traveling salesman, selling county supplies until 1926.[1]
In June 1926, Long ran against incumbent J. C. McClune in the primary election.[2] Long won 155,670 votes against McClune's 147,317 votes.[2] In November, Long ran as a Republican for Iowa State Auditor against Democrat E. J. Riegel and Commonwealth Land party candidate Alfred Phelps in the general election.[3][4] Long won 353,643 votes against Riegel's 135,671 votes.[3] He was then elected as Iowa State Auditor and sworn in on January 1, 1927.[1]
In June 1928, Long ran against J. C. McClune, again, and O. C. Burrows in the Republican primary.[5] Long won 138,239 votes against McClune's 80,006 votes and Burrows' 65,005 votes.[5] In November, he ran against Democrat Board of Education Member Anna B. Lawther in the general election.[6] Long won 588,682 votes against Lawther's 305,920 votes.[6]
In June 1930, Long ran against J. H. Strief in the Republican primary.[7] Long won 203,702 votes against Strief's 69,944 votes.[7] In November, he ran against Democrat Charles W. Storms in the general election.[8] Long won 325,272 votes against Storms' 177,239 votes.[8]
On May 13, 1929, Long's office began an audit of former Police Judge Paul E. Custer, at the request of the city council.[9]
The commission, formed on February 22, 1932, was composed of former Governor Beryl F. Carroll along with two public accountants, F. J. Harrigan and F. W. Sprung.[10][11][12] Carroll was appointed by Governor Turner.[10] They also consulted with Iowa Attorney General John Fletcher and Budget office director Oscar Anderson.[10] Others involved were Edwin C. Thayer, attorney for Long, Assistant Attorney General Carl J. Stephens, attorney for the commission, and Lois Grimm as stenographer.[11][12] James Risden, Chief of the Bureau of Investigation for the Iowa Department of Justice, assigned three special agents to the investigation.[12] 22 witness were called, with the testimony covering 1,035 pages.[12]
The charges included $4,720.53 worth of misappropriated funds, including personal and political trips and overcharging counties for audits, including Poweshiek County and Hamilton County.[13] It also found that another official, J. V. Lemley, collected $407.27 from the state for political trips.[11] The commission also reported that Long's response to these charges were "...in general not responsive, indefinite, and evasive."[11][12] The political trips were made between September 24, 1929 and May 21, 1930.[11] Long's family also charged for typing services that could have been done by state employees.[11] No forgeries were detected during the investigation.[11] In Poweshiek County, approved an overpayment settlement,[11] while in Hamilton County, 4 pages were removed from an audit and under charged for an audit by around $1,000.[11][12]
The commission delivered the report to Governor Turner on April 18, 1932.[13]
On April 23, 1932, Governor Turner suspended Long from office following the release of a commission report on his activities of misconduct.[13][14][15][16][17] He was succeeded by C. Fred Porter.