Entry Into Politics
Packer's support for the canal did not go unnoticed and in 1832, he was appointed by the Canal Commission to serve as Superintendent of the canals. The position was abolished in 1835 and Packer spent most of that year working for the re-election of Governor George Wolf and running for the Pennsylvania State Senate. A schism in the Democratic Party cost Wolf re-election and Packer a Senate seat.
In 1836, Packer co-founded The Keystone, a Democratic newspaper published in Harrisburg. Packer, through the Keystone, was a supporter of David R. Porter for Governor against Joseph Ritner in the election of 1838. His support of Porter's successful bid helped him earn an appointment to the Board of Canal Commissioners, a powerful post at the time. After he was re-elected, Porter appointed Packer to the post of Pennsylvania Auditor General in 1842.
After an unsuccessful bid for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1845, Packer won a seat in Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1847, rising to the post of Speaker of the House. Packer won re-election in 1848 and then successfully ran for the Pennsylvania State Senate in 1849, defeating Andrew Gregg Curtin.
In the State Senate, Packer was an ardent supporter of railroad development in Central Pennsylvania, working towards the establishment of the Susquehanna Railroad. At the time, state policy was to restrain railroad development in southern Pennsylvania which would benefit Baltimore rather than Philadelphia. The act to authorize the railroad connected the York and Cumberland Railroad to cities like Williamsport and Sunbury and increased their access to regional trade. In 1852, Packer became the first President of the Susquehanna, stepping aside after the line was consolidated into the Northern Central Railway.
During the 1856 Presidential Election, friend and fellow Pennsylvanian James Buchanan ran for the Democratic nomination against incumbent Franklin Pierce and Senator Stephen Douglas. Packer worked hard for his nomination and election. Buchanan won the nomination at the 1856 Democratic National Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio and went on to win the Presidency over Republican John C. Frémont and Know Nothing candidate and former President Millard Fillmore.
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