 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.