Sorrell first ran for political office in 1938 when he sought to represent the second legislative district in the
Nebraska Legislature. He was successful at winning the seat, ousting the incumbent, Robert McDowell Armstrong, by over 1,000 votes. Sorrell was then reelected to the Nebraska Legislature three times, serving eight years in total from 1939 to 1947. In 1946, after Nebraska Governor
Dwight Griswold decided to run for
US Senate, Sorrell sought the governorship of Nebraska. He won the Democratic primary but lost the
general election to
Val Peterson. Sorrell
challenged Peterson again in 1948 to be Nebraska governor after winning an uncontested primary but lost again. Sorrell tried once again to run for governor of Nebraska by attempting to unseat Republican incumbent governor
Victor E. Anderson in the
1956 Nebraska gubernatorial election but lost once again, though he captured the highest vote share of any of his three campaigns for governor. In 1964, Sorrell once again sought a seat in the Nebraska Legislature. but he died just over two months before the general election. ==Personal life==