The American Vote
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Second Party SystemCycle 15 / 60

1844

James K. Polk and the 1844 map.
James K. Polk (Democratic) defeated Henry Clay (Whig), 49.5% to 48.1% of the popular vote.

The 1844 U.S. presidential election was won by James K. Polk (Democratic) with 170 of 275 electoral votes, defeating Henry Clay (Whig). Electoral-vote margin: 65 (170 to 105). Popular-vote margin: 1.4 percentage points. Turnout was 79.2%. The cycle falls in the Second Party System era of American electoral history.

Polk
170 EV
Clay
105 EV
0138 to win275
The map · 1844
15 states for Dem · 11 for Whig
ALAKAZARCACOFLGAIDILINIAKSKYLAMEMIMNMSMOMTNENVNMNYNCNDOHOKORPASCSDTNTXUTVAWAWVWIWY

Open the what-if calculator → — flip states and re-count. A toy, not history.

Narrative

James K. Polk and the 1844 map

Dark horse James K. Polk narrowly defeated Henry Clay in an election dominated by territorial expansion. Polk ran on 'Manifest Destiny,' calling for annexation of Texas and assertion of claims to all of Oregon ('54-40 or Fight!'). Clay's ambivalent position on Texas annexation cost him votes to Liberty Party abolitionist James G. Birney in New York, which swung the state and the election to Polk. Polk served one term and fulfilled all his campaign promises.

Key issue

Texas annexation; Oregon boundary; Manifest Destiny and westward expansion

Notable

Polk was a dark horse nominee; Liberty Party spoiler cost Clay New York and the presidency

This summary was drafted with AI tools and has not yet been checked sentence by sentence. The vote table and the National Archives note on this page come from named sources; where they differ from the summary, rely on them. Tell us about an error.

State results · 1844

Electoral votes by state. State popular votes for 1844 are not yet published here.
1844 presidential election results by state: electoral votes
StateElectoral votesPopular vote
Alabama1
9 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Arkansas2
3 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Connecticut3
6 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Delaware4
3 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Georgia5
10 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Illinois6
9 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Indiana7
12 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Kentucky8
12 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Louisiana9
6 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Maine10
9 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Maryland11
8 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Massachusetts12
12 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Michigan13
5 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Mississippi14
6 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Missouri15
7 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
New Hampshire16
6 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
New Jersey17
7 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
New York18
36 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
North Carolina19
11 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Ohio20
23 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Pennsylvania21
26 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Rhode Island22
4 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
South Carolina23
9 EV
Electors were chosen by the legislature.
Tennessee24
13 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Vermont25
6 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.
Virginia26
17 EV
State popular vote not yet sourced.

Notes on the figures

  1. Alabama State popular vote not yet sourced.
  2. Arkansas State popular vote not yet sourced.
  3. Connecticut State popular vote not yet sourced.
  4. Delaware State popular vote not yet sourced.
  5. Georgia State popular vote not yet sourced.
  6. Illinois State popular vote not yet sourced.
  7. Indiana State popular vote not yet sourced.
  8. Kentucky State popular vote not yet sourced.
  9. Louisiana State popular vote not yet sourced.
  10. Maine State popular vote not yet sourced.
  11. Maryland State popular vote not yet sourced.
  12. Massachusetts State popular vote not yet sourced.
  13. Michigan State popular vote not yet sourced.
  14. Mississippi State popular vote not yet sourced.
  15. Missouri State popular vote not yet sourced.
  16. New Hampshire State popular vote not yet sourced.
  17. New Jersey State popular vote not yet sourced.
  18. New York State popular vote not yet sourced.
  19. North Carolina State popular vote not yet sourced.
  20. Ohio State popular vote not yet sourced.
  21. Pennsylvania State popular vote not yet sourced.
  22. Rhode Island State popular vote not yet sourced.
  23. South Carolina The state legislature chose the electors; there was no popular vote.
  24. Tennessee State popular vote not yet sourced.
  25. Vermont State popular vote not yet sourced.
  26. Virginia State popular vote not yet sourced.

SourceNo state popular-vote figures for 1844 are published here yet. How these figures were compiled

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1840
William Henry Harrison · Whig

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