1844 Presidential Election
November 1 – December 1, 1844 · Jacksonian Democracy · 275 electoral votes, 138 to win
Polk, the first dark-horse nominee, beat Clay narrowly on an explicit platform of annexing Texas and Oregon. The Liberty Party's 62,000 votes in New York arguably cost Clay the presidency.
Elected
James K. Polk
Democratic
Electoral vote
170 of 275
Popular vote
49.5%
1,339,494 votes
Turnout
79.2%
The result
| EV share | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James K. Polk | Democratic | George M. Dallas | 170 | 1,339,494 | 49.50% | 15 | |
| Henry Clay | Whig | Theodore Frelinghuysen | 105 | 1,300,004 | 48.10% | 11 | |
| James G. Birney | Liberty | Thomas Morris | — | 62,103 | 2.30% | — |
2,701,601 votes recorded for the candidates listed.
Results by state
| Alabama | James K. Polk | 59.0% | 9 | Henry Clay · 41.0% |
| Arkansas | James K. Polk | 63.0% | 3 | Henry Clay · 37.0% |
| Connecticut | Henry Clay | 50.8% | 6 | James K. Polk · 46.2% |
| Delaware | Henry Clay | 51.2% | 3 | James K. Polk · 48.8% |
| Georgia | James K. Polk | 51.2% | 10 | Henry Clay · 48.8% |
| Illinois | James K. Polk | 53.9% | 9 | Henry Clay · 42.1% |
| Indiana | James K. Polk | 50.1% | 12 | Henry Clay · 48.4% |
| Kentucky | Henry Clay | 54.1% | 12 | James K. Polk · 45.9% |
| Louisiana | James K. Polk | 51.3% | 6 | Henry Clay · 48.7% |
| Maine | James K. Polk | 53.8% | 9 | Henry Clay · 40.5% |
| Maryland | Henry Clay | 52.4% | 8 | James K. Polk · 47.6% |
| Massachusetts | Henry Clay | 50.8% | 12 | James K. Polk · 40.2% |
| Michigan | James K. Polk | 49.9% | 5 | Henry Clay · 43.5% |
| Mississippi | James K. Polk | 57.4% | 6 | Henry Clay · 42.6% |
| Missouri | James K. Polk | 57.0% | 7 | Henry Clay · 43.0% |
| New Hampshire | James K. Polk | 55.2% | 6 | Henry Clay · 36.3% |
| New Jersey | Henry Clay | 50.5% | 7 | James K. Polk · 49.4% |
| New York | James K. Polk | 48.9% | 36 | Henry Clay · 47.9% |
| North Carolina | Henry Clay | 52.4% | 11 | James K. Polk · 47.6% |
| Ohio | Henry Clay | 49.7% | 23 | James K. Polk · 47.8% |
| Pennsylvania | James K. Polk | 50.5% | 26 | Henry Clay · 48.6% |
| Rhode Island | Henry Clay | 60.1% | 4 | James K. Polk · 39.9% |
| South Carolina | James K. Polk | — | 9 | — |
| Tennessee | Henry Clay | 50.0% | 13 | James K. Polk · 50.0% |
| Vermont | Henry Clay | 54.9% | 6 | James K. Polk · 37.0% |
| Virginia | James K. Polk | 53.1% | 17 | Henry Clay · 47.0% |
The Congress it seated
29th Congress
1845–1847
Unified government
Senate
34–22
Democratic vs Whig
House
142–79
Democratic vs Whig · 7 others