 Connolly represented the Dunedin West electorate from 1943 to 1946, and then the Dunedin Central electorate from 1946 to 1963, when he retired.He narrowly missed selection for a cabinet portfolio in 1947 under Peter Fraser, though that year he was elected as the Labour Party's junior whip, being elevated to the senior whip in 1951.Connolly ran as the Labour candidate for Mayor in 1953, but lost to incumbent Len Wright.