In 1824, Henry Clay was Speaker of the House and one of four Democratic Republicans running for president. The others were Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, and William Crawford. Clay correctly predicted that no one would win the majority, which would throw the election of president to the House of Representative. He liked his odd of being selected there. His plan was ruined when he placed 4th and the House could only consider the top three candidates. Drats!
Eight years later, Henry Clay's nascent Whig Party was pitted against Jackson's Vice President, Martin Van Buren. The Whig Party was only a couple of years old and Clay - who had the best name recognition - chose not to run in 1836. Instead, hearkening back the 1824, the Whigs fielded a slate of candidates, each running in states where they had the best chance at winning. All they needed to do was prevent Van Buren from winning a majority of the electoral votes, which would let the House pick from the top contenders.
William Henry Harrison, who had largely vanished from politics more than a decade before, proved to be the most popular of the Whigs, winning 7 states and 37% of the popular vote.
Hugh White, a senator from Tennessee, won 2 states and 10% of the vote.
Daniel Webster, the famous orator and senator from Massachusetts, carried his home state and 3% of the vote.
Willie Mangum, yet another senator, carried South Carolina. This was odd as he was the senator for North Carolina, which voted for Van Buren.
Despite the number of candidates arrayed against him, Martin Van Buren won a majority of the votes, nearly 51% and carried 15 states.
Though the gambit didn't pay off for the Whigs, they did discover which of their candidates they should run in the next election. William Henry Harrison, Hero of the 1811 Battle of Tippecanoe and noted General from the War of 1812, had shown the most nationwide support. It was thus no surprise when he was selected as the sole Whig candidate to face Van Buren in 1840.
