Tyler had more success in international affairs. His administration reached the Webster–Ashburton Treaty, which settled a contentious territorial with Great Britain. Tyler also emphasized American interests in the Pacific Ocean, and he reached a commercial treaty with Qing China. He also extended the principles of the Monroe Doctrine to Hawaii. During his last two years in office Tyler pressed for the annexation of Texas as a slave state, injecting the annexation issue into the 1844 presidential election. Partly due to that issue, the 1844 election was won by Democrat James K. Polk. On March 1, 1845, three days before turning the presidency over to Polk, Tyler signed a Texas annexation bill into law, and Texas would be admitted as a state in the first year of Polk's presidency.