 Desha was drawn into the Holley controversy during the 1824 presidential election.When no candidate achieved a majority of the electoral votes cast, the contest was resolved by the U.S. House of Representatives.Desha and the New Court partisans in the General Assembly instructed the state's congressional delegation to cast their votes for Andrew Jackson, but the delegation, led by House Speaker Henry Clay, defied these instructions and voted instead for John Quincy Adams.