 His 1879 loss in an election for a seat in the Kentucky Senate marked the first in a string of political defeats.He failed in bids to represent Kentucky's Fifth District in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1884, 1886, 1888, and 1892.But he continued to be active in the Republican Party and was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1884, 1888, 1892, 1904, 1908, and 1916.