At the May 1844 Democratic National Convention in Baltimore , James K. Polk and Silas Wright were nominated as the Democratic ticket . However , when Wright declined the nomination , they chose Dallas as his replacement . Dallas , who was not at the convention , was woken up at his home by convention delegates who had traveled to Philadelphia to tell him the news . Dallas somewhat reluctantly accepted the nomination . The Democratic candidates won the popular vote by a margin of 1.5 % , and won the election with an electoral vote of 170 out of 275
1844 Democratic National Convention
1844 Democratic National Convention
George M. Dallas