 He was elected as a member of the Board of Education of Sioux Falls from 1908–1918, and President of it from 1911-1915 and served as president of the board of directors of the Union Savings Association (1912).In 1912, he was elected as a Republican to the South Dakota House of Representatives, and served as Speaker of the House beginning in 1915, in his last term.In 1918, Christopherson ran for and won the state seat in the United States House of Representatives.