He was narrowly defeated by the Jacksonian Union nominee, U.S House Representative Wilson Lumpkin.

The Union party was the product of the forces of liberal democracy that brought white manhood suffrage and popular elections in the 1800s.

[2] Another contribution to its growth was the emergence of competent leaders who were fed up with the undemocratic nature of the Troup party and its severe competition in the leadership arena.

The party, through much manipulation, had kept the nearly senile William H. Crawford as judge of the Northern Circuit, which brought great discredit to the caucus.

Despite these controversies, the party was able to hold on to life by reorganizing itself into being more in line with the rising opposition to President Andrew Jackson and becoming increasingly anti-tariff.