Waldron first stood for Parliament as a Whig at a by-election in Tipperary, caused by the expulsion of James Sadleir from the House of Commons.[4] Unsuccessful on this occasion, he was elected as a Whig for the same seat just a month later at the 1857 general election, holding the seat — standing as a Liberal in 1859 — until he stood down in 1865. Upon the death of John Blake Dillon in 1866, he stood for the seat again, this time as an Independent Liberal, but was unsuccessful.[5][6]