1844 United States presidential election

The **1844 United States presidential election** was the 15th election in the history of the United States. It occurred from November 1 to December 1, 1844. This election was between the Democratic nominee, Governor and former Speaker of the House James K. Polk of Tennessee and the Whig nominee, Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky. Polk won the election with 170 electoral votes. Clay got only 105 electoral votes.

This would be the last election to not occur on a single day

### Democratic Party

|style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#3333FF; width:200px;"|James K. Polk|style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#3333FF; width:200px;"|George M. Dallas|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|colspan="30" style="background:#f1f1f1;"|<big>**1844 Democratic Party ticket**</big>|||
|style="width:3em; font-size:100%; color:#000; background:#C8EBFF; width:200px;"|***for President***|style="width:3em; font-size:100%; color:#000; background:#C8EBFF; width:200px;"|***for Vice President***|
|13th Speaker of the House <small>(1835-1839)</small> 9th Governor of Tennessee <small>(1839–1841)|U.S. Minister To Russia <small>(1837–1839)</small>|||

#### Presidential

- James K. Polk, 9th Governor of Tennessee <small>(1839-1841)</small> and 13th Speaker of the House <small>(1835-1839) _(Nominee)_</small>
- Martin Van Buren, 8th President of the United States <small>(1837-1841)</small>
- Lewis Cass, 15th United States Minister to France <small>(1836-1842) _(1848 Nominee)_</small>
- Richard M. Johnson, 9th Vice President of the United States <small>(1837-1841)</small>
- James Buchanan, U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania <small>_(1856 Nominee) (Later became POTUS in 1857)_</small>
- John C. Calhoun, 7th Vice President of the United States <small>(1825-1832)</small> and 16th Secretary of State <small>(1844-1845)</small>
- Levi Woodbury, 13th Secretary of the Treasury <small>(1834-1841)</small>
- Charles Stewart, Rear Admiral of the U.S. Navy <small>(1798-1861)</small>
- Marcus Morton, 16th & 18th Governor of Massachusetts <small>(1825, 1840-1841, 1843-1844)</small>

#### Vice Presidential

- George M. Dallas, United States Minister to Russia from Pennsylvania <small>(1837-1839) _(Vice presidential nominee)_</small>
- Silas Wright, U.S. senator from New York <small>(1833-1844) _(Vice presidential nominee, declined)_</small>
- John Fairfield, U.S. senator from Maine <small>(1843-1847)</small>
- Levi Woodbury, 13th Secretary of the Treasury <small>(1834-1841)</small>
- Lewis Cass, 15th United States Minister to France <small>(1836-1842) _(1848 Presidential Nominee)_</small>
- Richard M. Johnson, 9th Vice President of the United States <small>(1837-1841)</small>
- Charles Stewart, Rear Admiral of the U.S. Navy <small>(1798-1861)</small>
- William L. Marcy, 11th Governor of New York <small>(1833-1838)</small>

### Whig Party

|style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#F0DC82; width:200px;"|Henry Clay|style="width:3em; font-size:135%; background:#F0DC82; width:200px;"|Theodore Frelinghuysen|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|style="background:#f1f1f1;" colspan="30"|<big>**1844 Whig Party ticket**</big>|||
|style="width:3em; font-size:100%; color:#000; background:lightyellow; width:200px;"|***for President***|style="width:3em; font-size:100%; color:#000; background:lightyellow; width:200px;"|***for Vice President***|
|7th Speaker of the House <small>(1811–1814, 1815–1820, 1823–1825)</small>|2nd Chancellor Of New York University <small>(1839–1850)</small>|||

#### Presidential

- Henry Clay, former U.S. senator from Kentucky <small>(1806-1807, 1810-1811, 1831-1842)</small> and 7th Speaker of the House <small>(1811–1814, 1815–1820, 1823–1825) _(Nominee) (1832 National Republican Nominee) (1824 Democratic-Republican Nominee)_</small>

#### Vice Presidential

- Theodore Frelinghuysen, 2nd Chancellor of New York University <small>(1839-1850)</small>, 2nd Mayor of Newark <small>(1838-1839),</small> and former U.S. senator from New Jersey <small>(1829-1835) _(Vice presidential nominee)_</small>
- John Davis, 14th & 17th Governor of Massachusetts <small>(1834-1835, 1841-1843)</small> and former U.S. senator from Massachusetts <small>(1835-1841)</small>
- Millard Fillmore, former Congressman from New York <small>_(1_</small><small>_833-1835, 1837-1843) (1848 Vice Presidential Nominee) (Later became POTUS in 1850)_</small>
- John Sargeant, U.S. representative from Pennsylvania <small>(1821-1829, 1831-1835, 1843-1849)</small> <small>_(_</small><small>_Clay's running mate in 1832 under the National Republican ticket)_</small>
- John M. Clayton, former U.S. senator from Delaware <small>(1829-1836)</small>
- John McLean, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court from Ohio <small>(1841–1861)</small>
- George Evans, U.S. senator from Maine (<small>1841-1849)</small>

## Infobox (election)

- **election name**: 1844 United States presidential election
- **type**: presidential
- **ongoing**: no
- **country**: United States
- **flag year**: 1837
- **previous election**: 1840 United States presidential election
- **previous year**: 1840
- **next election**: 1848 United States presidential election
- **next year**: 1848
- **needed votes**: 138 electoral
- **votes for election**: 275 members of the Electoral College (United States), Electoral College
- **image1**: James K Polk (3x4 cropped).jpg
- **nominee1**: **James K. Polk**
- **home state1**: Tennessee
- **running mate1**: **George M. Dallas**
- **electoral vote1**: **170**
- **states carried1**: **15**
- **popular vote1**: **1,339,494**
- **percentage1**: **49.54%**
- **party1**: Democratic Party (United States)
- **image2**: Clay 1848 (cropped).jpg
- **party2**: Whig Party (United States)
- **nominee2**: Henry Clay
- **home state2**: Kentucky
- **running mate2**: Theodore Frelinghuysen
- **electoral vote2**: 105
- **states carried2**: 11
- **popular vote2**: 1,300,005
- **percentage2**: 48.08%
- **turnout**: 79.2%  1.1 percentage point, pp
- **election date**: November 1 – December 1, 1844
- **image1 size**: 105px
- **image2 size**: 105px
- **map image**: ElectoralCollege1844.svg
- **map caption**: Presidential election results map. <span style="color:blue;">Blue</span> denotes states won by Polk/Dallas and <span style="color:f0c962;">Yellow</span> by Cass/Butler. Numbers indicate the number of United States Electoral College, electoral votes cast by each state.
- **before election**: John Tyler
- **before party**: Independent politician
- **after election**: James K. Polk
- **after party**: Democratic Party (United States)
- **title**: President