Democratic-Republican Party nomination Democratic-Republican candidates: File:James_Madison_by_Gilbert_Stuart_1804.jpeg|
PresidentJames Madison File:DeWitt Clinton by Rembrandt Peale.jpg|
Mayor and
Lt. GovernorDeWitt Clintonof
New York File:George Clinton by Ezra Ames (full portrait).jpg|
Vice PresidentGeorge Clinton(Died April 20) Many Democratic-Republicans in the northern states were unhappy over the
perceived dominance of the presidency by the state of Virginia (three of the last four presidents had been Virginians), and they wished instead to nominate one of their own rather than re-nominate President Madison. Initially, these hopes were pinned upon Vice President George Clinton, but his poor health and advanced age of 72 eliminated his chances. Even before Clinton's death on April 20, 1812, his nephew New York Lieutenant Governor
DeWitt Clinton was considered the preferred candidate to move against Madison by the northern Democratic-Republicans. Hoping to forestall a serious movement against President
James Madison and a division of the Democratic-Republican Party, some proposed making DeWitt Clinton the nominee for the vice presidency, taking over the same office his uncle now held. DeWitt Clinton was not opposed to the offer, but preferred to wait until after the conclusion of the New York caucus, which would not be held until after the congressional caucus had met, to finalize his decision. Early caucuses were held in the states of Virginia and Pennsylvania, both of which pledged their support to Madison. Eighty-three of the one hundred thirty-eight of the Democratic-Republican members of the
United States Congress attended the nominating caucus in May 1812. The delegations from New York and New England had less representation due to the New York members supporting
DeWitt Clinton's attempt to gain the support of the Federalists and the New England members opposing Madison's foreign policy. Eighty-two of the delegates voted to give the presidential nomination to Madison while
John Langdon won the vice-presidential nomination against
Elbridge Gerry by a vote of sixty-four to sixteen. However, Langdon declined the nomination citing his age and it was instead given to Gerry after another vote was held with seventy-four delegates voting for him. When the New York caucus did meet on May 29, it was dominated by anti-war Democratic-Republicans, and nominated DeWitt Clinton for the presidency almost unanimously.
Anti-Madison Ticket Anti-Madison candidates: File:DeWitt Clinton by Rembrandt Peale.jpg|
Mayor and
Lt. GovernorDeWitt Clintonof
New York File:John Marshall by Cephas Thompson,.png|
Chief Justice of the United StatesJohn Marshall (Declined to Contest) Before Clinton entered the race as an alternative to President Madison,
Chief Justice John Marshall was a favorite for the Federalist presidential nomination, a relatively popular figure who could carry much of the Northeast while potentially taking Virginia and North Carolina as well. But with Clinton in the race, the Federalists would no longer be able to count on the electoral votes of New York, possibly throwing the election into the
House of Representatives, dominated by Democratic-Republicans, where Madison would almost certainly be elected. In the face of these facts, the Federalist party considered endorsing Clinton's candidacy for a time, but at their caucus in September it was decided that the party simply would not field a presidential candidate that year and did not endorse Clinton. Though there was much support among the Federalists for Clinton, it was felt that openly endorsing him as the party's choice for president would damage his chances in states where the Federalists remained unpopular and drive away Democratic-Republicans who would normally be supportive of his candidacy. A Federalist caucus in Pennsylvania chose to nominate
Jared Ingersoll, the Attorney General of the state, as Clinton's vice presidential running-mate, a move Clinton decided to support considering the importance of Pennsylvania's electors.
Straight-Federalist nomination While many Federalists were supportive of DeWitt Clinton's candidacy, others were not so keen, skeptical of Clinton's positions regarding the war and other matters.
Rufus King, a former diplomat and Representative, had led an effort at the September Caucus to nominate a Federalist ticket for the election that year, though he was ultimately unsuccessful. Still, some wished to enter King's name into the race under the Federalist label, and while very little came of it, it caused problems for the Clinton campaign in two states. In the case of Virginia, Clinton was rejected entirely by the state Federalist Party, which instead chose to nominate Rufus King for president and
William Richardson Davie for vice president. The ticket would acquire about 27% of the vote in the state. In New York, with the Federalists having gained control of the state legislature that summer, it was planned that the Federalists would nominate a slate pledged to Rufus King now that they had the majority. However, a coalition of Democratic-Republicans and Federalists would defeat the motion and succeed in nominating a slate pledged to Clinton. == General election ==