A 1844 an zabe shi a majalisar dattijai, inda ya yi aiki a ci gaba har sai an zaba shi a matsayin dan takarar Whig Party don mataimakin gwamna a kan tikitin tare da John J. Crittenden, wanda ya shahara ga Crittenden Compromise. Whigs ya lashe babban zaben kuma Helm ya zama gwamna a ranar 31 ga Yuli, 1850, lokacin da Crittenden ya yi murabus game da karɓar alƙawari a matsayin Babban Shari'ar Amurka a cikin majalisar Tennessee Millard Fillmore. Bayan hidimarsa a matsayin gwamna Helm ya zama shugaban kamfanin jirgin kasa na Louisville da Nashville. Ya zuba dubban daloli na kansa a cikin aikin kuma ya shawo kan mazauna garin su sayi babban layin da aka kammala a cikin shekara ta 1859.
John J. Crittenden