1844 United States elections

The 1844 United States elections elected the members of the 29th United States Congress, and took place during the Second Party System in the midst of the debate over whether to annex Texas. Texas and Iowa joined the union during the 29th Congress. Democrats retained control of the House and took back control of the presidency and the Senate, re-establishing the dominant position the party had lost in the 1840 election.

1844 United States elections
1842          1843          1844          1845          1846
Presidential election year
Incumbent presidentJohn Tyler (Independent)[1]
Next Congress29th
Presidential election
Partisan controlDemocratic gain
Popular vote marginDemocratic +1.4%
Electoral vote
James K. Polk (D)170
Henry Clay (W)105
1844 United States presidential election in Maine1844 United States presidential election in New Hampshire1844 United States presidential election in Massachusetts1844 United States presidential election in Rhode Island1844 United States presidential election in Connecticut1844 United States presidential election in New York1844 United States presidential election in Vermont1844 United States presidential election in New Jersey1844 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania1844 United States presidential election in Delaware1844 United States presidential election in Maryland1844 United States presidential election in Virginia1844 United States presidential election in Ohio1844 United States presidential election in Michigan1844 United States presidential election in Indiana1844 United States presidential election in Illinois1844 United States presidential election in Kentucky1844 United States presidential election in Tennessee1844 United States presidential election in North Carolina1844 United States presidential election in South Carolina1844 United States presidential election in Georgia1844 United States presidential election in Alabama1844 United States presidential election in Mississippi1844 United States presidential election in Louisiana1844 United States presidential election in Arkansas1844 United States presidential election in Missouri
1844 presidential election results. Blue denotes states won by Polk, buff denotes states won by Clay. Numbers indicate the electoral votes won by each candidate.
Senate elections
Overall controlDemocratic gain
Seats contested18 of 54 seats[2]
Net seat changeDemocratic +3[3]
House elections
Overall controlDemocratic hold
Seats contestedAll 227 voting members
Net seat changeWhig +7[3]

In the presidential election, Democratic former Speaker of the House James K. Polk defeated Whig former Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky.[4] Though Polk won the popular vote by a little over one percent, he won by a comfortable margin in the electoral college. James G. Birney of the nascent Liberty Party took two percent of the popular vote, and may have swung the election by taking votes from Clay in New York.[5] The little-known Polk defeated several rivals to win his party's nomination, emerging as the first dark horse nominee in U.S. presidential history. Incumbent President John Tyler, who had been expelled from the Whig party early in his presidency, was briefly the candidate of the newly formed Democratic-Republican Party, but dropped out of the race after Polk announced his support for ratification of Tyler's Texas annexation treaty.

In the House, Whigs picked up a small number of seats, but Democrats retained a commanding majority.[6]

In the Senate, Democrats picked up several seats, re-taking the majority.[7]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Tyler was elected vice president on the Whig ticket in the 1840 presidential election, and became president after the death of William Henry Harrison in April 1841. Due to various disagreements with congressional Whigs, he was expelled from the Whig Party in September 1841. Tyler supported Polk in the 1844 presidential election.
  2. ^ Not counting special elections.
  3. ^ a b Congressional seat gain figures only reflect the results of the regularly-scheduled elections, and do not take special elections into account.
  4. ^ "1844 Presidential Election". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  5. ^ "Presidential elections". History.com. History Channel. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  6. ^ "Party Divisions of the House of Representatives". United States House of Representatives. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  7. ^ "Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present". United States Senate. Retrieved 25 June 2014.