who won the most popular votes but not enough electoral votes in the presidential election of 1824
United States presidential election, 1824 The 1824 presidential election marked the final collapse of the Republican-Federalist political framework. Considering the large numbers of candidates and strong regional preferences, it is not surprising that the results of the election of 1824 were inconclusive. The electoral map confirmed the candidates' sectional support, with Adams winning outright in the New England states, Jackson gleaning success in states throughout the nation, Clay attracting votes from the West, and Crawford attracting votes from the eastern South. Andrew Jackson received more electoral and popular votes than any other candidate, but not the majority of 131 electoral votes needed to win the election. Since no candidate received the required majority of electoral votes, the presidential election was decided by the House of Representatives (see "Contingent election" below). Meanwhile, John C. Calhoun easily defeated his rivals in the race for the vice presidency, as the support of both the Adams and Jackson camps quickly gave him an unassailable lead over the other candidates. This means that 1824 marks the only election in U.S. history where only the vice presidential candidate had been successfully elected to an executive office by Electoral College. Despite Clay himself finishing last in the electoral college, his running-mate, Nathan Sanford actually finished second behind Calhoun in the vice presidential vote, mostly because nearly half of the electors pledged to Crawford voted for candidates other than his designated running-mate, Nathaniel Macon, with New York senator Martin Van Buren being the main beneficiary.