 Desha attacked Tompkins' record as a judge, claiming that he had consistently supported the Second Bank of the United States and the current Court of Appeals.This, Desha said, put him in direct and open opposition to the state's farmers and ensured that, if he were elected, the state would be governed by the judicial branch, not the governor.Desha claimed the state's newspapers persecuted him the same way the Anti-Relief party persecuted debtors.