Nationwide, none of the candidates had received a majority of the electoral votes, so the top three finishers went to the House of Representatives for a final election. Clay, Missouri's choice, finished fourth nationwide and did not qualify for the House election. This left John Scott, Missouri's representative in the House, to decide who the state would vote for in the contingent election. Clay endorsed Adams, but Jackson had been much more popular in the state than Adams, so there was no clear choice for Scott. Of Missouri's two United States senators, David Barton advised Scott to vote for Adams, while Thomas Hart Benton backed Jackson.
Scott decided to vote for Adams, who won the overall election. Clay had performed some background maneuvering in favor of Adams, and received an appointment as secretary of state. Jackson, who had finished with the most electoral votes in the initial run, considered Adams' election a "corrupt bargain". Scott's decision to vote for Adams proved unpopular in Missouri, and he lost his bid for re-election in 1826. Jackson defeated Adams in the 1828 United States presidential election.
