Representatives had been elected in November 1822 to a term in the 18th United States Congress, beginning on March 4, 1823.

Parmenio Adams had contested the election of Isaac Wilson, and was seated in January 1824.

At this time the Democratic-Republican Party in New York was split into two opposing factions: on one side, the supporters of DeWitt Clinton and his Erie Canal project; on the other side, the Bucktails (including the Tammany Hall organization in New York City), led by Martin Van Buren.

The incumbents Wood, Cambreleng, Strong, Van Rensselaer, Storrs, Taylor, Martindale, Ten Eyck, Marvin, Rose, Hayden and Adams were re-elected; the incumbents Sharpe, Craig, Herkimer, Clark, Litchfield, Day and Woods were defeated.

Note: Of the People's Party candidates, Wood, Sands, Strong, Van Rensselaer, Campbell and Storrs were old Federalists; Haines, Craig, Taylor, Marvin, Hayden and Adams were old Clintonians; and Sharpe, Herkimer, Martindale and Rose were elected as Bucktails in 1822.

[16] On November 11, 1824, the New York State Legislature chose 36 presidential electors of whom 26 voted for John Quincy Adams, 5 for William H. Crawford, 4 for Henry Clay and 1 for Andrew Jackson.

Henry Clay supported Adams, so that after the contingent election on February 9, 1825, one month before the end of the term of the 18th Congress, the members were back-labeled (according to their actual vote) as "Adams-Clay Democratic-Republicans" (Sharpe, Van Wyck, Williams, Herkimer, Cady, Taylor, Martindale, Lawrence, Marvin, Rose, Hayden, Woods, Adams and Tracy), "Jackson Democratic-Republicans" (Morgan and Craig), "Crawford Democratic-Republicans" (Tyson, Cambreleng, Frost, Jenkins, Hoogeboom, Foote, Eaton, Richards, Ten Eyck, Collins, Clark, Dwinell, Litchfield, Day) and "Adams-Clay Federalists" (Wood, Strong, Van Rensselaer, Storrs).

After this fiasco, Martin Van Buren abandoned Crawford, and re-organized his Bucktails supporting Andrew Jackson.