Member, New Jersey Legislative Council 1826 and served as president; elected to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Joseph McIlvaine and served from November 9, 1826 to January 12, 1829, when he resigned because of failing health. His election to the Senate was contested by several members of the New Jersey Legislature and citizens, citing that Bateman, while presiding over the joint election meeting, cast the deciding vote for himself against Theodore Frelinghuysen. A select committee investigated the issue and declared the election legal.[1]