Rubuta ci gaba ga wannan sakin layi - Wilson ya kasance memba na Jam'iyyar Democrat. Ya yi aiki a Majalisar Wakilai ta Tennessee daga 1877 zuwa 1879, yana zaune a kwamitin shari'a. An zabe shi a majalisar dattijai ta Tennessee a 1879, kuma ya zama shugaban kwamitin shari'a. An zabe shi da "ƙananan haraji" don wakiltar Tennessee a 1880 Democratic National Convention
, amma ya yi rashin nasara ga Alvin Hawkins.