Presidential election of 1844
1844 presidential election results
James K. Polk (Democratic) and running mate George M. Dallas won with 170 electoral votes and 49.5% of the popular vote.
| Candidate | Running mate | Party | Electoral votes | Popular vote | Share | States won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James K. Polk Won | George M. Dallas | Democratic | 170 | 1,339,494 | 49.50% | 14 |
| Henry Clay | Theodore Frelinghuysen | Whig | 105 | 1,300,004 | 48.10% | 11 |
| Total popular votes counted | 2,703,659 | |||||
Electoral College map
Full-screen mapMargin:<55–1010–2020+points. Grey: no popular vote / no data.
Results by state
Download CSV| State | James K. Polk | Henry Clay | Margin | EV | Total votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 59.0% 9 | 41.0% | 18.0 | 9 | 63,403 |
| Arkansas | 63.0% 3 | 37.0% | 26.0 | 3 | 15,150 |
| Connecticut | 46.2% | 50.8% 6 | 4.6 | 6 | 64,616 |
| Delaware | 48.7% | 51.2% 3 | 2.5 | 3 | 12,247 |
| Georgia | 51.2% 10 | 48.8% | 2.4 | 10 | 86,247 |
| Illinois | 53.9% 9 | 42.0% | 11.9 | 9 | 109,057 |
| Indiana | 50.1% 12 | 48.4% | 1.7 | 12 | 140,157 |
| Kentucky | 45.9% | 54.1% 12 | 8.2 | 12 | 113,237 |
| Louisiana | 51.3% 6 | 48.7% | 2.6 | 6 | 26,865 |
| Maine | 53.8% 9 | 40.5% | 13.4 | 9 | 84,933 |
| Maryland | 47.6% | 52.4% 8 | 4.8 | 8 | 68,690 |
| Massachusetts | 40.2% | 50.8% 12 | 10.6 | 12 | 132,037 |
| Michigan | 49.9% 5 | 43.5% | 6.4 | 5 | 55,560 |
| Mississippi | 57.4% 6 | 42.6% | 14.9 | 6 | 45,004 |
| Missouri | 57.0% 7 | 43.0% | 14.0 | 7 | 72,522 |
| New Hampshire | 55.2% 6 | 36.3% | 18.9 | 6 | 49,187 |
| New Jersey | 49.4% | 50.5% 7 | 1.1 | 7 | 75,944 |
| New York | 48.9% 36 | 47.8% | 1.1 | 36 | 485,882 |
| North Carolina | 47.6% | 52.4% 11 | 4.8 | 11 | 82,521 |
| Ohio | 47.8% | 49.7% 23 | 1.9 | 23 | 312,300 |
| Pennsylvania | 50.4% 26 | 48.6% | 1.8 | 26 | 331,645 |
| Rhode Island | 39.9% | 60.0% 4 | 20.1 | 4 | 12,194 |
| South Carolina | 9 electors chosen by state legislature and awarded to James K. Polk | — | — | — | |
| Tennessee | 49.9% | 50.1% 13 | 0.1 | 13 | 119,957 |
| Vermont | 37.0% | 54.9% 6 | 17.9 | 6 | 48,765 |
| Virginia | 53.0% 17 | 47.0% | 6.1 | 17 | 95,539 |
Shares are of the votes counted for president; bold numbers are electoral votes won. Margin is the winner’s lead over the runner-up in points.
Closest states in 1844
- Tennessee Henry Clay by 123 votes (0.10 pts)
- New York James K. Polk by 5,106 votes (1.05 pts)
- New Jersey Henry Clay by 823 votes (1.08 pts)
- Indiana James K. Polk by 2,317 votes (1.65 pts)
- Pennsylvania James K. Polk by 6,116 votes (1.84 pts)
- Ohio Henry Clay by 5,964 votes (1.91 pts)
- Georgia James K. Polk by 2,047 votes (2.37 pts)
- Delaware Henry Clay by 301 votes (2.46 pts)
Flipped since 1840
- Georgia: Whig → Democratic (10 EV)
- Indiana: Whig → Democratic (12 EV)
- Louisiana: Whig → Democratic (6 EV)
- Maine: Whig → Democratic (9 EV)
- Michigan: Whig → Democratic (5 EV)
- Mississippi: Whig → Democratic (6 EV)
- New York: Whig → Democratic (36 EV)
- Pennsylvania: Whig → Democratic (26 EV)
Why the state electoral votes do not add up to the national total
In 1844 some states had no popular vote; their electors were chosen another way, so their electoral votes appear only in these notes:
- South Carolina: 9 electors chosen by state legislature and awarded to James K. Polk
Source: 1844
Questions and answers
Who won the 1844 presidential election?
James K. Polk (Democratic) won the 1844 election with 170 electoral votes, with George M. Dallas as vice president.
How many electoral votes did each candidate win in 1844?
James K. Polk 170; Henry Clay 105 (out of 275).
Who won the popular vote in 1844?
James K. Polk received the most popular votes: 1,339,494 (49.5%) of 2,703,659 counted.
What was the closest state in 1844?
Tennessee, which Henry Clay won by 123 votes (0.10 points).
Which states flipped in 1844?
Compared with 1840, 8 states changed party: Georgia (to Democratic), Indiana (to Democratic), Louisiana (to Democratic), Maine (to Democratic), Michigan (to Democratic), Mississippi (to Democratic), New York (to Democratic) and Pennsylvania (to Democratic).
Official results As published by The American Presidency Project (UC Santa Barbara) and the state documents it links. How we use this data