James K. Polk
★ President
- Born
- November 2, 1795
- Died
- June 15, 1849
- Age at death
- 53
- Home state
- Tennessee
- Party
- Independent 1825–1827, Democratic 1831–1844
- In office
- 1845–1849
- Years in office
- 4 years as president, 13 years in the U.S. House, 2 years as governor
- On the ballot
- 1825–1844
6-2
RecordWin–Loss
Total Popular Votes
Polk1.5M
Opponents1.5M
Total Electoral Votes
Polk170
Opponents105
8
Elections run
Between 1825 and 1844, James K. Polk ran in 8 elections across 3 offices (U.S. House, Governor, and President), winning 6 and losing 2. Polk's biggest single-election total was 1,337,243 votes, in the 1844 U.S. presidential election. Polk's closest win came in the 1825 U.S. House election in Tennessee's District 6, decided by 917 votes.
Browse every U.S. presidential election, every governor election in Tennessee, or every U.S. House race in Tennessee's District 9.
How many votes has James K. Polk received?
James K. Polk has received 1,517,872 popular votes across 8 U.S. elections, with a career record of 6–2, plus 170 electoral votes.
Election history
| Year | Office | Result | Votes | Opponent(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1844 | Presidentwith George M. Dallas | Won | 1,337,243 (49.5%)170 EV | Henry Clay |
| 1843 | GovernorTennessee | Lost | 54,47048.3% | James C. Jones (head-to-head) |
| 1841 | GovernorTennessee | Lost | 50,34348.44% | James C. Jones (head-to-head) |
| 1839 | GovernorTennessee | Won | 54,06251.27% | Newton Cannon |
| 1833 | U.S. HouseTennessee | Won | 4,75168.52% | Porter T F Bradford |
| 1831 | U.S. HouseTennessee | Won | 6,99399.37% | Lunsford M Bramlett (head-to-head) |
| 1827 | U.S. HouseTennessee | Won | 6,35156.56% | Lunsford M Bramlett (head-to-head) |
| 1825 | U.S. HouseTennessee | Won | 3,65935.32% | W W Erwin Lunsford M Bramlett (head-to-head) James Sanford Francis Willis |
Identity & sources. Identity verified against the Congressional Bioguide (P000409) and Wikidata (Q11891). Election results come from official certified totals and the MIT Election Data and Science Lab; see methodology.
Cite this profile. PolitiFinder, “James K. Polk: election history & vote totals.” https://politifinder.com/p/james-k-polk. Accessed [date].