1840  1844 Presidential Election Returns  1848

In 1844, President John Tyler, who had come to office due to the death of William Henry Harrison, was opposed by his own party for renomination because he had not lived up to the party's principles. The Whig Party nominated former Kentucky Senator Henry Clay, who campaigned against the annexation of Texas as a way of keeping the unity between Northern and Southern states. It would preserve the balance between the North and the South. He lost support in the South and West, where support for Texas annexation was strong. He also lost support from many in the Northeast, where anti-slavery sentiments were strong. Democrats chose the former House Speaker James K. Polk of Tennessee. He campaigned vigorously for the expansion of the United States, including Texas. Clay's supporters took advantage of Clay's lack of name recognition. Their slogan was "Who is Polk?" Polk campaigned mainly on expanding the territory of the U.S., including the Oregon Country, which led to the slogan "54, 40', or fight! Ultimately, it was a close race, coming down to a narrow victory in New York for Polk. Third Party candidate James Birney was blamed by Clay for splitting the Northern vote enough to allow Polk to win. But Polk won on expanding the territory of the nation! UNITED STATES VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Polk/Dallas 1,339,570 50 170 Clay/Frelinghuysen + 1,300,157 48 105 Birney/Morris 62,103 2 0 All Other Candidates 2,058 0 0 ALABAMA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Polk/Dallas 37,401 59 9 Clay/Frelinghuysen + 26,002 41 0 ARKANSAS VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Polk/Dallas 9,546 63 3 Clay/Frelinghuysen + 5,604 37 0 CONNECTICUT VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Polk/Dallas 29,841 46 0 Clay/Frelinghuysen + 32,832 51 6 DELAWARE VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Polk/Dallas 5,970 49 0 Clay/Frelinghuysen + 6,271 51 3 GEORGIA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Polk/Dallas 44,147 51 10 Clay/Frelinghuysen + 42,100 49 0 ILLINOIS VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Polk/Dallas 58,795 54 9 Clay/Frelinghuysen + 45,854 42 0 INDIANA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Polk/Dallas 70,181 50 12 Clay/Frelinghuysen + 67,867 48 0 KENTUCKY VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Polk/Dallas 51,988 46 0 Clay/Frelinghuysen + 61,249 54 12 LOUISIANA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Polk/Dallas 13,782 51 6 Clay/Frelinghuysen + 13,083 49 0 MAINE VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Polk/Dallas 45,719 54 9 Clay/Frelinghuysen + 34,378 40 0 Birney/Morris 4,836 6 0 MARYLAND VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Polk/Dallas 32,706 48 0 Clay/Frelinghuysen + 35,984 52 8 MASSACHUSETTS VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Polk/Dallas 53,039 40 0 Clay/Frelinghuysen + 67,062 51 12 Birney/Morris 10,830 8 0 MICHIGAN VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Polk/Dallas 27,737 50 5 Clay/Frelinghuysen + 24,375 44 0 Birney/Morris 3,639 6 0 MISSISSIPPI VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Polk/Dallas 25,846 57 6 Clay/Frelinghuysen + 19,158 43 0 MISSOURI VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Polk/Dallas 41,322 57 7 Clay/Frelinghuysen + 31,200 43 0 NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Polk/Dallas 27,160 55 6 Clay/Frelinghuysen + 17,866 36 0 Birney/Morris 4,161 8 0 NEW JERSEY VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Polk/Dallas 37,495 49 0 Clay/Frelinghuysen + 38,318 50 7 NEW YORK VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Polk/Dallas 237,588 49 36 Clay/Frelinghuysen + 232,482 48 0 NORTH CAROLINA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Polk/Dallas 39,287 48 0 Clay/Frelinghuysen + 43,232 52 11 OHIO VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Polk/Dallas 149,061 48 0 Clay/Frelinghuysen + 155,113 50 23 PENNSYLVANIA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Polk/Dallas 167,447 51 26 Clay/Frelinghuysen + 161,125 49 0 RHODE ISLAND VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Polk/Dallas 4,867 40 0 Clay/Frelinghuysen + 7,322 60 4 SOUTH CAROLINA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Polk/Dallas No Popular Vote -- 9 TENNESSEE VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Polk/Dallas 59,917 50 0 Clay/Frelinghuysen + 60,040 50 13 VERMONT VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Polk/Dallas 18,049 37 0 Clay/Frelinghuysen + 26,780 55 6 Birney/Morris 3,970 8 0 VIRGINIA VOTES PERCENT ELECTORAL VOTE Polk/Dallas 50,679 53 17 Clay/Frelinghuysen + 44,860 47 0 SYMBOLS KEY Whig Democrat Other Liberty Party Winner * Incumbent + Incumbent Party