Heaton was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1910, and was elected as a Republican to the Sixty-fourth and Sixty-fifth Congresses. He did not seek renomination in 1918, having become a candidate for the Pennsylvania State Senate.
Later activities
He was a member of the State Senate from 1919 to 1932. He resumed his former business activities, and served as a member of the board of trustees of the Ashland State Hospital.