State Representative
McLaughlin still had dreams of becoming a lawyer, but he had already stopped going to college. A local attorney, George P. Whittington, agreed to mentor him and help him study for the bar in exchange for some errands. Whittington became a lifelong friend.
In 1910, Whittington encouraged McLaughlin to run for the state representative of Garland County. He had no experience, was barely out of high school, and was a college dropout. But Whittington taught him how to win a crowd and McLaughlin was a natural showman. The night of July 16th, 1910, the streets of Hot Springs celebrated the victory of the newest and youngest state representative for Garland County.
McLaughlin went to Little Rock in January of 1911 and stayed until May of that year. He was woefully unprepared and if it was not for Whittington encouraging him to stay, he would have left before his term was over.