1844 United States presidential election in Michigan

1844 United States presidential election in Michigan
← 1840 November 4, 1844 1848 →
← KY MS →
Polk 40–50% 50–60% 60–70%	Clay 40–50% 50–60%
President before election; John Tyler; Independent	Elected President ; James K. Polk; Democratic

A presidential election was held in Michigan on November 4, 1844 as part of the 1844 United States presidential election.^[1] Voters chose five representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for President and Vice President.

Michigan voted for the Democratic candidate, James K. Polk, over Whig candidate Henry Clay and Liberty candidate James G. Birney. Polk won Michigan by a margin of 6.03%.

With 6.53% of the popular vote, Michigan would prove to be Jame G. Birney's fourth strongest state after New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Vermont.^[2]

Results

General Election Results^[3]
Party		Pledged to	Elector	Votes
	Democratic Party	James K. Polk	Parley J. Spaulding	27,737
	Democratic Party	James K. Polk	George Redfield	27,728
	Democratic Party	James K. Polk	Charles P. Bush	27,699
	Democratic Party	James K. Polk	Louis Beaufait	27,689
	Democratic Party	James K. Polk	Samuel Axford	27,686
	Whig Party	Henry Clay	John Riddle	24,375
	Whig Party	Henry Clay	James L. Conger	24,374
	Whig Party	Henry Clay	Cogswell K. Green	24,374
	Whig Party	Henry Clay	Darius C. Jackson	24,374
	Whig Party	Henry Clay	Norton H. Beckwith	24,287
	Liberty Party	James G. Birney	John W. King	3,639
	Liberty Party	James G. Birney	Chester G. Gurney	3,637
	Liberty Party	James G. Birney	Arthur L. Porter	3,637
	Liberty Party	James G. Birney	Chandler Carter	3,628
	Liberty Party	James G. Birney	Erastus Hussey	3,626
	Write-in		Scattering	34
Votes cast^[a]				55,785

Results by county

County^[3]^[4]	James K. Polk Democratic		Henry Clay Whig		James G. Birney Liberty		Margin		Total votes cast^[a]
County^[3]^[4]	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	Total votes cast^[a]
Allegan	299	47.24%	323	51.03%	11	1.74%	-24	-3.79%	633
Barry	249	50.51%	228	46.25%	16	3.25%	21	4.26%	493
Berrien	828	52.54%	713	45.24%	35	2.22%	115	7.30%	1,576
Branch	888	54.78%	644	39.73%	89	5.49%	244	15.05%	1,621
Calhoun	1,528	49.12%	1,357	43.62%	226	7.26%	171	5.50%	3,111
Cass	715	46.01%	760	48.91%	59	3.80%	-45	-2.90%	1,554^[b]
Chippewa	34	41.46%	48	58.54%	0	0.00%	-14	-17.07%	82
Clinton	283	50.81%	255	45.78%	19	3.41%	28	5.03%	557
Eaton	376	44.39%	410	48.41%	61	7.20%	-34	-4.01%	847
Genesee	676	42.46%	733	46.04%	183	11.49%	-57	-3.58%	1,592
Hillsdale	1,088	47.97%	968	42.68%	212	9.35%	120	5.29%	2,268
Ingham	441	48.04%	432	47.06%	45	4.90%	9	0.98%	918
Ionia	398	45.49%	418	47.77%	59	6.74%	-20	-2.29%	875
Jackson	1,389	43.87%	1,302	41.12%	475	15.00%	87	2.75%	3,166
Kalamazoo	828	40.65%	932	45.75%	277	13.60%	-104	-5.11%	2,037
Kent	564	52.56%	476	44.36%	33	3.08%	88	8.20%	1,073
Lapeer	502	50.76%	399	40.34%	88	8.90%	103	10.41%	989
Lenawee	2,272	48.57%	2,178	46.56%	228	4.87%	94	2.01%	4,678
Livingston	1,087	57.76%	687	36.50%	108	5.74%	400	21.25%	1,882
Mackinac	100	69.93%	43	30.07%	0	0.00%	57	39.86%	143
Macomb	1,359	55.11%	963	39.05%	140	5.68%	396	16.06%	2,466^[c]
Monroe	1,282	58.22%	870	39.51%	48	2.18%	412	18.71%	2,202^[d]
Oakland	2,833	52.12%	2,225	40.93%	377	6.94%	608	11.18%	5,436^[e]
Ottawa	116	66.29%	42	24.00%	17	9.71%	74	42.29%	175
Saginaw	104	48.83%	107	50.23%	2	0.94%	-3	-1.41%	213
Shiawassee	269	40.45%	300	45.11%	96	14.44%	-31	-4.66%	665
St. Clair	617	50.37%	569	46.45%	27	2.20%	48	3.92%	1,225^[f]
St. Joseph	976	48.92%	935	46.87%	84	4.21%	41	2.06%	1,995
Van Buren	350	52.24%	273	40.75%	46	6.87%	77	11.49%	670^[e]
Washtenaw	2,550	48.25%	2,349	44.45%	386	7.30%	201	3.80%	5,285
Wayne	2,736	51.85%	2,346	44.46%	192	3.64%	390	7.39%	5,277^[g]
Total	27,737	49.72%	24,375^[h]	43.69%	3,639	6.52%	3,362	6.03%	55,785

Counties that flipped from Whig to Democratic

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Whig

Saginaw

Notes

1 2 Based on highest elector on each ticket
↑ Includes 20 Scattering votes.
↑ Includes 4 Scattering votes.
↑ Includes 2 Scattering votes.
1 2 Includes 1 Scattering vote.
↑ Includes 12 Scattering votes.
↑ Includes 3 Scattering votes.
↑ The county results add up to 24,285.

References

↑ Presidential Elections, 1844. [Boston]. 1844.
↑ "1844 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
1 2 Michigan State Archives, 1844 Election Canvass
↑ Vaughn, Coleman C. (1917). Michigan Official Directory and Legislative Manual for the Years 1917 and 1918. Lansing. pp. 734–735. Retrieved May 22, 2026.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

[highest-4] 1 2 Based on highest elector on each ticket

[6] Includes 20 Scattering votes.

[7] Includes 4 Scattering votes.

[8] Includes 2 Scattering votes.

[one-9] 1 2 Includes 1 Scattering vote.

[10] Includes 12 Scattering votes.

[11] Includes 3 Scattering votes.

[12] The county results add up to 24,285.

[1] Presidential Elections, 1844. [Boston]. 1844.

[2] "1844 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved March 5, 2018.

[canvass-3] 1 2 Michigan State Archives, 1844 Election Canvass

[manual-5] Vaughn, Coleman C. (1917). Michigan Official Directory and Legislative Manual for the Years 1917 and 1918. Lansing. pp. 734–735. Retrieved May 22, 2026.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

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