Joseph Desha - Gubernatorial Election of 1824

Gubernatorial Election of 1824

With Adair constitutionally ineligible to seek a second consecutive term, Desha was the first candidate to publicly declare his intention to seek the governorship in 1824. He began his campaign in late 1823 and faced little opposition until Christopher Tompkins declared his candidacy in May 1824. Tompkins was a little-known judge from Bourbon County who vehemently held to the principles of the Anti-Relief faction. Colonel William Russell, a military veteran of 50 years, also sought to carry the mantle of the Anti-Relief faction. While not as eloquent or well-versed in the faction's rhetoric, he had few political enemies and his military career brought him great respect among the electorate.

While Tompkins and his supporters primarily campaigned through the state's newspapers, most of which supported the Anti-Relief faction, Desha traveled the state making stump speeches. Offering no specific platform, he focused exclusively on the idea that he opposed "judicial usurpation" and believed "all power belonged to the people". He was generally acknowledged as the candidate of the Relief Party, but historian Arndt M. Stickles has noted that he used Anti-Relief rhetoric in some counties. Desha attacked Tompkins' record as a judge, claiming the he had consistently supported the Second Bank of the United States and the current Court of Appeals. This, Desha said, put him in direct and open opposition to the state's farmers and ensured that, if he were elected, the state would be governed by the judicial branch, not the governor. Desha claimed the state's newspapers persecuted him the same way the Anti-Relief party persecuted debtors. He also charged that Tompkins was not the true choice of the Anti-Relief party, but only gained its support by being the first candidate with that position to announce his candidacy. Backers of Russell, who consistently ran a distant third in voter support, agreed with this claim, saying Tompkins had joined the race before a date that had been previously agreed on among Anti-Relief candidates, giving him an unfair advantage over Russell.

Anti-Relief partisans opened many lines of attack against Desha. They said his refusal to articulate a specific campaign platform showed that he was trying to be all things to all people. They assailed his military record, claiming he had only volunteered for service in the War of 1812 after being promised command of a division, that he balked at fighting and discouraged General Harrison's pursuit of the British and Indians, and that he billed excessive expenses to the government after his service. Desha's legislative career was also subject to scrutiny and attack. Anti-Relief partisans claimed that he had espoused certain positions for the sole purpose of pitting the state's agrarian interests against its aristocracy. They charged that he had secretly favored the Compensation Act of 1816 and had worked to pass it, despite his vote against it. In contrast to his rhetoric in favor of a strong, well-equipped army and navy, opponents claimed he had actually voted against increasing the military's budget. As further evidence of his lack of trustworthiness, they pointed to his vote for William H. Crawford while serving as a presidential elector in 1816, even though Kentuckians were nearly unanimous in their support of James Monroe.

Although Desha was universally acknowledged as the leading candidate during the early months of the campaign, as election day approached, some began to doubt whether he could withstand the withering attacks of the Anti-Relief Party. The Frankfort Argus, a pro-Desha newspaper, remained confident, however, predicting that the Relief candidate would win by a margin of 4-to-1. On election day, Desha secured a comfortable victory, receiving 38,378 votes, nearly 60% of the votes cast, and carrying large majorities even in some strongly Anti-Relief counties. Tompkins garnered 22,499 votes, with his support concentrated mostly in Central Kentucky. Russell finished third with 3,900 votes. Desha and his allies in the General Assembly interpreted the victory as a mandate from the voters to aggressively pursue their debt relief agenda.