 In 1857 Church was elected New York State Comptroller, but was defeated in 1859 and 1863 when a candidate for re-election.In 1867 he was a delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention, and was chairman of its finance committee.During the Civil War, Church "vilified the Lincoln administration for seeking to 'absorb, centralize and consolidate the rights and powers of the loyal States in the general government.