 Adelson is a Democrat who was first elected in 2004.Prior to his election, Adelson served Governor of Oklahoma Brad Henry's first Oklahoma Secretary of Health from 2003 to 2004.Adelson was the Democratic nominee for mayor of Tulsa in the 2009 election, but lost the general election to Republican nominee Dewey F. Bartlett, Jr.

Before running for the state senate, Adelson served as Oklahoma's Secretary of Health under Governor Brad Henry.