horatio seymour’s became the democratic candidate instead, and lost to ulysses s. grant by a lot of electoral college votes, although the popular vote was much closer. in 1872 the democrats supported liberal republican horace greeley's disastrous presidential campaign. the election of 1872 prompted belmont to resign as chairman of the democratic national committee, but he stayed interested in politics as a champion of us senator thomas f. bayard of delaware for the presidency, and as a fierce critic of the process granting rutherford b. hayes the presidency in 1877, and as an advocate of “hard money.”