In 1896, Bragg was once again one of the leaders of the Wisconsin delegation to that year's Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Bragg, however, was deeply bothered by the nomination of William Jennings Bryan and the ascendance of the "populist fanatics." Bragg threatened to vote for the Republican, William McKinley. He became one of the leaders of a Democratic schism, called the National Democratic Party, and was a candidate for president at its convention in Indianapolis in September. McKinley went on to win the election, carrying Wisconsin by roughly the exact margin Bragg had predicted—100,000 votes.