[3][4] Following the death of Charles Kettle, a representative of the Bruce electorate, on 5 June 1862, Baldwin was a candidate in the resulting by-election, but was beaten by Edward Cargill.
[7] On 20 June 1863, he was elected in the Gold Fields electorate of the Otago Provincial Council, which he represented until 20 September 1864.
[2] After his time on the provincial council, he sold his sheep run and became a travelling commissioner for the Government Life Insurance Department.
[15] Baldwin was succeeded as manager by George Fenwick and left his editorial position in January 1876.
[17] In the early 1890s, Baldwin visited Perth in Western Australia and was so impressed by its climate that he decided to retire to it.