The presidential election of 1832 was approaching, and Floyd was torn: He wanted to see Vice President Calhoun as the presidential candidate, but wondered if he should first be proposed as the vice presidential candidate for the second term. He felt Calhoun had a better chance to beat Jackson than Clay, and he wrote to Calhoun in April 1831 to know his opinion: "Under all these views I really do not know which course to take; whether to announce you a candidate for the presidency and take the hazard of war, or wait the fate of Clay. We would be glad to know your opinion about these things." Floyd, along with Tazewell and John Tyler, were considered the leaders of the Virginians that had become disaffected with Jackson and had turned to Calhoun. They felt that Jackson had repudiated "virtue and ability as well as Old Republican tenets." According to historian Stephen Oates, "In Floyd's opinion, the federal government under "King Andrew" had usurped power left and right, thus allowing the majority to run roughshod over the minority."