Fillmore lost in bids for the vice presidency in 1844 and for New York governor later that year. Fillmore sought the vice presidency for the Whig Party alongside candidate Henry Clay. However, the nomination for vice president went to Theodore Frelinghuy-sen of New Jersey. Fillmore then ran as the Whig Party candidate for governor, but narrowly lost to Democratic nominee Silas Wright, a former U.S. Senator. After these defeats, Fillmore went back to practicing law.