Election of 1844
LINKS
| Abbreviations | Definitions | Sources |
BASICS
| Category | Result |
|---|---|
| Incumbent | John Tyler (I) |
| Prior streak | W (1) |
| Prior five elections | D (2), DR (2), W (1) |
| Population | 19,295,947 |
| States | 26 |
| Electoral votes | 275 |
| Popular votes | 2,703,659 |
| Voter turnout | 78.9% |
FIELD OF QUALIFIED CANDIDATES
| Candidate | Party | PI | Age | State | Position | Nom | Win | CS | ROP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Polk | D | 6.7 | 49.00 | Tennessee | Former governor | X | X | 81.33 | 121 |
| Henry Clay | W | 5.6 | 67.55 | Kentucky | Former nominee | X | — | 71.05 | 127 |
| Martin Van Buren | D | 8.7 | 61.91 | New York | Former president | — | — | 50.00 | 57 |
| Lewis Cass | D | 5.1 | 62.06 | Michigan | Former Cabinet member | — | — | 34.91 | 68 |
| James Birney | LTY | 2.6 | 52.74 | Michigan | Movement leader | — | — | 17.35 | 67 |
| Richard Johnson | D | 5.6 | 64.04 | Kentucky | Former vice president | — | — | 17.19 | 31 |
GENERAL ELECTION
| Candidate | Party | SC | PV | PV% | EV | EV% | PV*EQ | EV*EQ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Polk | D | 15 | 1,339,494 | 49.54% | 170 | 61.82% | 49,543,748 | 333 |
| Henry Clay | W | 11 | 1,300,004 | 48.08% | 105 | 38.18% | 48,083,135 | 205 |
| James Birney | LTY | 0 | 62,103 | 2.30% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,296,998 | 0 |
REGIONAL SPLITS
| Candidate | Party | PV% | East | South | Midwest | West | EV | East | South | Midwest | West |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Polk | D | 49.54% | 48.29% | 51.33% | 50.34% | — | 170 | 77 | 60 | 33 | — |
| Henry Clay | W | 48.08% | 48.35% | 48.67% | 47.01% | — | 105 | 46 | 36 | 23 | — |
| James Birney | LTY | 2.30% | 3.28% | 0.00% | 2.51% | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
PV BY STATES
| State | Total PV | Polk | Clay | Birney | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 63,403 | 37,401 | 26,002 | — | — |
| Arkansas | 15,150 | 9,546 | 5,604 | — | — |
| Connecticut | 64,616 | 29,841 | 32,832 | 1,943 | — |
| Delaware | 12,247 | 5,970 | 6,271 | — | 6 |
| Georgia | 86,247 | 44,147 | 42,100 | — | — |
| Illinois | 109,057 | 58,795 | 45,854 | 3,469 | 939 |
| Indiana | 140,157 | 70,183 | 67,866 | 2,108 | — |
| Kentucky | 113,237 | 51,988 | 61,249 | — | — |
| Louisiana | 26,865 | 13,782 | 13,083 | — | — |
| Maine | 84,933 | 45,719 | 34,378 | 4,836 | — |
| Maryland | 68,690 | 32,706 | 35,984 | — | — |
| Massachusetts | 132,037 | 53,039 | 67,062 | 10,830 | 1,106 |
| Michigan | 55,560 | 27,737 | 24,185 | 3,638 | — |
| Mississippi | 45,004 | 25,846 | 19,158 | — | — |
| Missouri | 72,522 | 41,322 | 31,200 | — | — |
| New Hampshire | 49,187 | 27,160 | 17,866 | 4,161 | — |
| New Jersey | 75,944 | 37,495 | 38,318 | 131 | — |
| New York | 485,882 | 237,588 | 232,482 | 15,812 | — |
| North Carolina | 82,521 | 39,287 | 43,232 | — | 2 |
| Ohio | 312,300 | 149,127 | 155,091 | 8,082 | — |
| Pennsylvania | 331,645 | 167,311 | 161,195 | 3,139 | — |
| Rhode Island | 12,194 | 4,867 | 7,322 | — | 5 |
| South Carolina | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tennessee | 119,957 | 59,917 | 60,040 | — | — |
| Vermont | 48,765 | 18,041 | 26,770 | 3,954 | — |
| Virginia | 95,539 | 50,679 | 44,860 | — | — |
| Total | 2,703,659 | 1,339,494 | 1,300,004 | 62,103 | 2,058 |
PV% BY STATES
| State | PV winner | Polk | Clay | Birney | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Polk | 58.99% | 41.01% | — | — |
| Arkansas | Polk | 63.01% | 36.99% | — | — |
| Connecticut | Clay | 46.18% | 50.81% | 3.01% | — |
| Delaware | Clay | 48.75% | 51.20% | — | 0.05% |
| Georgia | Polk | 51.19% | 48.81% | — | — |
| Illinois | Polk | 53.91% | 42.05% | 3.18% | 0.86% |
| Indiana | Polk | 50.08% | 48.42% | 1.50% | — |
| Kentucky | Clay | 45.91% | 54.09% | — | — |
| Louisiana | Polk | 51.30% | 48.70% | — | — |
| Maine | Polk | 53.83% | 40.48% | 5.69% | — |
| Maryland | Clay | 47.61% | 52.39% | — | — |
| Massachusetts | Clay | 40.17% | 50.79% | 8.20% | 0.84% |
| Michigan | Polk | 49.92% | 43.53% | 6.55% | — |
| Mississippi | Polk | 57.43% | 42.57% | — | — |
| Missouri | Polk | 56.98% | 43.02% | — | — |
| New Hampshire | Polk | 55.22% | 36.32% | 8.46% | — |
| New Jersey | Clay | 49.37% | 50.46% | 0.17% | — |
| New York | Polk | 48.90% | 47.85% | 3.25% | — |
| North Carolina | Clay | 47.61% | 52.39% | — | 0.00% |
| Ohio | Clay | 47.75% | 49.66% | 2.59% | — |
| Pennsylvania | Polk | 50.45% | 48.61% | 0.95% | — |
| Rhode Island | Clay | 39.91% | 60.05% | — | 0.04% |
| South Carolina | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tennessee | Clay | 49.95% | 50.05% | — | — |
| Vermont | Clay | 37.00% | 54.90% | 8.11% | — |
| Virginia | Polk | 53.05% | 46.96% | — | — |
| Total | Polk | 49.54% | 48.08% | 2.30% | 0.08% |
EV BY STATES
| State | Total EV | Polk | Clay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 9 | 9 | 0 |
| Arkansas | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Connecticut | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Delaware | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Georgia | 10 | 10 | 0 |
| Illinois | 9 | 9 | 0 |
| Indiana | 12 | 12 | 0 |
| Kentucky | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| Louisiana | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| Maine | 9 | 9 | 0 |
| Maryland | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| Massachusetts | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| Michigan | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Mississippi | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| Missouri | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| New Hampshire | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| New Jersey | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| New York | 36 | 36 | 0 |
| North Carolina | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| Ohio | 23 | 0 | 23 |
| Pennsylvania | 26 | 26 | 0 |
| Rhode Island | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| South Carolina | 9 | 9 | 0 |
| Tennessee | 13 | 0 | 13 |
| Vermont | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Virginia | 17 | 17 | 0 |
| Total | 275 | 170 | 105 |
MARGINS AND FLIPS
| State | PV winner | Runnerup | Gap (votes) | Gap (points) | Flip |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Polk | Clay | 11,399 | 17.98 | 5,700 |
| Arkansas | Polk | Clay | 3,942 | 26.02 | 1,972 |
| Connecticut | Clay | Polk | 2,991 | 4.63 | 1,496 |
| Delaware | Clay | Polk | 301 | 2.46 | 151 |
| Georgia | Polk | Clay | 2,047 | 2.37 | 1,024 |
| Illinois | Polk | Clay | 12,941 | 11.87 | 6,471 |
| Indiana | Polk | Clay | 2,317 | 1.65 | 1,159 |
| Kentucky | Clay | Polk | 9,261 | 8.18 | 4,631 |
| Louisiana | Polk | Clay | 699 | 2.60 | 350 |
| Maine | Polk | Clay | 11,341 | 13.35 | 5,671 |
| Maryland | Clay | Polk | 3,278 | 4.77 | 1,640 |
| Massachusetts | Clay | Polk | 14,023 | 10.62 | 7,012 |
| Michigan | Polk | Clay | 3,552 | 6.39 | 1,777 |
| Mississippi | Polk | Clay | 6,688 | 14.86 | 3,345 |
| Missouri | Polk | Clay | 10,122 | 13.96 | 5,062 |
| New Hampshire | Polk | Clay | 9,294 | 18.90 | 4,648 |
| New Jersey | Clay | Polk | 823 | 1.08 | 412 |
| New York | Polk | Clay | 5,106 | 1.05 | 2,554 |
| North Carolina | Clay | Polk | 3,945 | 4.78 | 1,973 |
| Ohio | Clay | Polk | 5,964 | 1.91 | 2,983 |
| Pennsylvania | Polk | Clay | 6,116 | 1.84 | 3,059 |
| Rhode Island | Clay | Polk | 2,455 | 20.13 | 1,228 |
| South Carolina | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tennessee | Clay | Polk | 123 | 0.10 | 62 |
| Vermont | Clay | Polk | 8,729 | 17.90 | 4,365 |
| Virginia | Polk | Clay | 5,819 | 6.09 | 2,910 |
| Total | Polk | Clay | 39,490 | 1.46 | 19,746 |