After his term as governor, Brown again returned to his legal practice in Louisville. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the House of Representatives in 1896, losing to Republican Walter Evans. He would later claim that he had only run in order to improve Democratic voter turnout for William Jennings Bryan's 1896 presidential bid. Prior to the 1899 Democratic nominating convention, Brown was mentioned as a possible gubernatorial nominee, but he declined to become a candidate. When the convention began, he was mentioned as a candidate for convention chairman, but he also refused to serve in this capacity.