United States Presidential Election of 1844

James K. Polk beat Henry Clay 170 to 105 as annexation of Texas decided the outcome.

Overview

The Democrats surprised everyone by nominating dark horse Polk, an expansionist committed to Texas annexation and Oregon, on the ninth ballot. Clay wavered on annexation, and the antislavery Liberty Party drew over 62,000 votes nationally, more than Polk's razor margin in New York, where a Clay win would have reversed the electoral result. Polk's 170 to 105 victory committed the nation to expansion and the Mexican War that followed, adding the Southwest and igniting the slavery controversy that Clay's compromises could only postpone.