where was zachary taylor elected from?
Kentucky
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 Taylor 's status as a national hero as a result of his victories in the Mexican @-@ American War won him election to the White House despite his vague political beliefs . His top priority as president was preserving the Union , but he died seventeen months into his term , before making any progress on the status of slavery , which had been inflaming tensions in Congress . 

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 The Whig Party convinced the reluctant Taylor to lead their ticket , despite his unclear platform and lack of interest in politics . He won the election alongside New York politician Millard Fillmore , defeating Democratic candidates Lewis Cass and William Orlando Butler , as well as a third party effort led by former President Martin Van Buren and Charles Francis Adams , Sr. of the Free Soil Party . As president , Taylor kept his distance from Congress and his cabinet , even as partisan tensions threatened to divide the Union . Debate over the slave status of the large territories claimed in the war led to threats of secession from Southerners . 

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 As president @-@ elect , Taylor kept his distance from Washington , not resigning his Western Division command until late January 1849 . He spent the months following the election formulating his cabinet selections . He was deliberate and quiet about his decisions , to the frustration of his fellow Whigs . While he despised patronage and political games , he endured a flurry of advances from office @-@ seekers looking to play a role in his administration . 

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 Democratic Senator and former Governor Evan Bayh of Indiana began a movement for the 2008 Democratic nomination for president of the United States shortly following the 2004 presidential election . 

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 Taylor remained at Monterrey until late November 1847 , when he set sail for home . While he would spend the following year in command of the Army 's entire western division , his active military career was over . In December he received a hero 's welcome in New Orleans and Baton Rouge , and his popular legacy set the stage for the 1848 presidential election . 
