Andrew Jackson was the incumbent president running for re-election on the Democratic ticket. Following the result of the 1828 election, the Adams Party split into competing factions. The Anti-Masonic Party drew support from New Englanders in the Western Reserve, while the National Republicans dominated the Anti-Jacksonian opposition in the rest of the state. The Anti-Masons were the first to hold a national convention and nominated former United States Attorney GeneralWilliam Wirt for president. They hoped the selection of Wirt, who had served in the John Quincy Adams Administration, could united all Anti-Jacksonians under a single banner, but the National Republican convention spurned the Anti-Masons and nominated their own candidate, SenatorHenry Clay of Kentucky. Fearing a split in the opposition vote could throw the election to Jackson, opposition leaders in Ohio agreed to support a fusion ticket of electors jointly nominated by the two parties who were pledged to vote for whichever candidate stood the best chance to defeat Jackson. While the plan succeeded in nearly uniting Ohio's Anti-Jacksonians, Jackson carried Ohio by a margin of 3 percent.[1]
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