The Democratic Patten successfully ran the election, defeating Republican challenger Bernard F. Rodgers by nearly 20,000 votes.[4]
He was then elected into office for the 88th United States Congress on January 3, 1963.[1] Patten was again challenged by Rodgers in 1964, but Patten soundly defeated him again, after receiving 63.2% of the vote.[5] Patten would be challenged and re-elected again in 1966 against C. John Stroumtsos,[6] in 1968 against George W. Luke,[7] in 1970 against Peter P. Garibaldi,[8] in 1972 against Fuller H. Brooks,[9] in 1974 against E. J. Hammesfahr,[10] in 1976 against Charles W. Wiley and Independent Dennis Adams Sr.,[5] and finally in 1978 in another election against Charles W. Wiley. He was not a candidate for renomination in the 1980 United States House of Representatives election for the 15th congressional district.[1]
In his time in Congress, Patten sponsored twenty-nine bills, all related to various purposes such as Social Security, human rights, and Medicare.[11] In 1978, Patten was accused of facilitating an illegal campaign contribution from a Korean businessman as part of the Koreagate scandal. Patten was cleared of charges by an 8–0 vote of the House Ethics Committee in October of that year.[12][13] Patten fared far better than some of his counterparts, such as California representative Richard T. Hanna who was sentenced to six to thirty months in jail,[13] and ended up serving one year in federal prison.[14] In the Democratic primary, he captured 59% of the vote in a race against political newcomer George Spadoro. In the 1978 election, he beat out Republican Charles Wiley by a slim 2,836 vote margin.
