I te pakanga o te tau 1876 i waenga i a Samuel J. Tilden me Rutherford B. Hayes, ka uru ano a Dougherty ki te ao torangapu, ka korero mo Tilden, te Democrat, i te Cooper Union i New York City. I te tau 1880, i tae atu ia ki te Democratic National Convention
hei kaitautoko mo te hoa-Pennsylvanian Winfield Scott Hancock. Ahakoa ehara ia i te mema o te roopu, i tukuna e tetahi mema ki a Dougherty tana waahi i runga i te papa kia ahei ai te kaikorero ki te korero ki te whakauru i te ingoa o Hancock ki te tohu. He poto tana korero, engari he kaha ki te whakamoemiti ki a Hancock: