Waddell remained active in the Democratic Party after his defeat, becoming a highly sought after political speaker and campaigner. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1880, where he supported Union General Winfield Scott Hancock for president and was also a member of the platform committee. In 1888, he was an elector-at-large and canvassed for Grover Cleveland's presidential campaign. In 1896, he was, again, a delegate at the 1896 Democratic National Convention. And when a statewide White Supremacy campaign began, in 1898, Waddell was at its forefront, in Wilmington.