Following the war Gifford studied law and was was admitted to the bar in 1871, beginning his practice in Canton, Dakota Territory (now South Dakota). He was district attorney for Lincoln County, mayor of Canton, and a member of the State constitutional convention of South Dakota which convened at Sioux Falls on September 7, 1883. He was elected as a Delegate as a Republican, and served from March 4, 1885-March 3, 1889.
Upon the admission of South Dakota as a state he was elected as a Representative, serving from November 2, 1889 to March 3, 1891. He was a candidate for renomination in 1890, and resumed the practice of law in Canton, where he died. He was intered in Forest Hill Cemetery in Canton.