In his association with, and labor for, the Republican party, Col. Kent was actuated by his opposition to the institution of slavery, which he regarded as prejudicial to the republic. He maintained his convictions earnestly, yet candidly, in his paper and on the stump. But after the war and the downfall of slavery, he favored the burial of past issues and sectional bitterness, and the restoration of fraternal relations, as essential to the general prosperity of the country. Regarding the policy of the administration as inimical to such result, he was unable to sustain it. He therefore disposed of his paper, which as a party organ he could not conscientiously carry to the opposition, and engaged in the development and organization of the Liberal movement, which resulted in the Cincinnati convention and the nomination of Horace Greeley for president in 1872. He participated in that convention, and was a member of the National and chairman of the State Liberal Republican committee in 1872 and 1873. In 1873 the Liberals ran an independent state ticket, but united with the Democracy on a common platform in 1874. The resolutions of the Liberal convention, announcing such purpose, were presented in the Democratic convention by Col. Kent, whose appearance and announcement elicited strong demonstrations of enthusiasm in that body. The campaign thus opened, ended in the election of a Democratic governor and legislature,--a result to which the earnest labors of Col. Kent largely contributed. In recognition of his efficient services, as well as acknowledged ability, he was accorded the Democratic congressional nomination in the third district in 1875, and again in 1877 and 1878. In each of the attendant canvasses, he spoke continuously, and ran largely ahead of his party vote, especially in his own town and vicinity. In all subsequent campaigns Col. Kent has heartily devoted his energies to the furtherance of Democratic principles, and has been active upon the stump in New Hampshire and outside the state, and always with numerous calls and large audiences.