Jennings ran for reelection to Congress in 1811 against another pro-slavery candidate, Waller Taylor. The campaign was the most divisive in Jennings's career. Taylor derided Jennings as a "pitiful coward" and went so far as to challenge Jennings to a duel, but he refused.Woollen, p. 32 Jennings ran on the slavery issue again, fielding his new motto, "No slavery in Indiana". Jennings's supporters tied Taylor, a territorial judge, to the pro-slavery movement. Jennings easily won reelection, thanks to an expanding base of support that included the growing community of Harmonists.Mills, p. 153–54According to historian Randy Mills, the Harmonists began to arrive in the territory 1814 and quickly became a political factor in elections because they voted as a block under the direction of their leader, George Rapp. Jennings made an effort to gain Rapp's political support, especially after Jennings became governor. See Mills, p. 184–85. Following his reelection, Jennings developed jaundice, an illness often caused by alcoholism, but he recovered.Mills, p. 15–78 During his third term in Congress, Jennings began advocating that statehood be granted to Indiana, but held off formally introducing legislation until the end of the War of 1812. Jennings ran against Elijah Sparks in his 1814 reelection campaign and easily won.Mills, p. 156
