12. Why did three Whig candidates run against Martin Van Buren in the presidential election of 1836? They were trying to deny Van Buren a majority by flooding the ticket with candidates. They hoped to show that Van Buren needed to be a more lenient president than Jackson had been. They assumed that Van Buren was so unpopular that any of the three could win. O Daniel Webster insisted on running even though he lacked support outside of the South