The 1819 Indiana gubernatorial election took place August 2, 1819. The incumbent governor Jonathan Jennings defeated the former lieutenant governor Christopher Harrison.

Jennings announced his candidacy in May, following weeks of speculation. For some time the identity of his opponent remained uncertain. Harrison entered the race on July 3 and quickly emerged as the main challenger to the incumbent. Other possible candidates, including the judge of the Indiana Supreme Court Jesse Lynch Holman, declined consideration.

Jennings's role in negotiating the Treaty of St. Mary's was a major issue in the campaign. In 1818, Jennings was appointed one of three federal commissioners to negotiate the cession of principally Miami and Potawatomi land in Northern and Central Indiana. Critics claimed Jennings's acceptance of the commission violated the state constitution, which prohibited the governor from simultaneously holding federal office. Acting on this interpretation, Harrison announced that Jennings had abandoned the governorship and briefly took possession of the state seal. The Indiana General Assembly conducted an investigation but declined to remove Jennings from office, whereupon Harrison resigned as lieutenant governor.

The Democratic-Republican Party was dominant nationally, and the politics of the state were conducted on a nonpartisan basis. Jennings's opponents framed the election as a referendum on the legality of the governor's actions during the treaty negotiations; his defenders responded that the importance of the territory opened to settlement by the "New Purchase" outweighed the constitutional question. Jennings was accused of being a Federalist and an alcoholic and charged with corruption in his management of the Bank of Indiana. Harrison, in contrast, was praised for his integrity, Republicanism, aversion to banks and speculation, and strict observance of the laws and the constitution.

The election result was a personal vindication of Jennings, who defeated Harrison by a large majority. Voters rewarded Jennings for his role in the acquisition of new territory, while the governor's enduring popularity from his long service as the U.S. delegate representing the Indiana Territory's at-large congressional district was reflected by his strong showing in the western part of the state.

General election Results The original manuscript returns appear to be lost. Dorothy Riker and Gayle Thornbrough cite records kept by the Indiana House of Representatives as well as unofficial results from 21 of 31 counties in their comprehensive study of early Indiana election returns. Notably, the sum of all votes for Harrison in the unofficial county results exceeds his statewide total quoted in the Indiana House Journal by nearly 900 votes. Michael J. Dubin recapitulates the county data from Riker and Thornbrough, while noting the discrepancy with the legislative records. Phil Lampi's A New Nation Votes project recovers additional newspaper evidence with varying totals for Jennings and Harrison. The following tables defer to Lampi, who locates an additional 249 votes for Jennings and 97 votes for Harrison in Sullivan County compared with Riker and Thornbrough.

Results by county The returns from Crawford and Lawrence counties were rejected by the General Assembly. The Indiana House Journal shows 80 votes for Samuel Carr and 1 vote for Peter Buell Allen, but incomplete county data recovered by Lampi accounts for only 59 votes for Carr and no votes for Allen; this table quotes the statewide figures for both men while calculating Jennings's and Harrison's totals based on the county data.

County Jonathan Jennings Christopher Harrison Samuel Carr Peter Buell Allen Total Votes Percent Votes Percent Votes Percent Votes Percent Clark 618 63.84 311 32.13 39 4.03 — 968 Crawford Daviess Dearborn 1,015 86.31 161 13.69 — — 1,176 Dubois Fayette 631 96.93 20 3.07 — — 651 Floyd 311 98.11 6 1.89 — — 317 Franklin 1,087 97.31 30 2.69 — — 1,117 Gibson 85 19.54 350 80.46 — — 435 Harrison 847 95.71 38 4.29 — — 885 Jackson Jefferson 447 61.49 260 35.76 20 2.75 — 727 Jennings 189 96.92 6 3.08 — — 195 Knox 144 27.53 379 72.47 — — 523 Lawrence Monroe Orange 401 70.23 170 29.77 — — 571 Owen Perry Pike 99 72.79 37 27.20 — — 136 Posey 410 81.51 93 18.49 — — 503 Randolph 1,101 78.20 307 21.80 — — 1,408 Wayne Ripley 159 98.76 2 1.24 — — 161 Spencer 169 96.02 7 3.98 — — 176 Sullivan 249 71.97 97 28.03 — — 346 Switzerland 516 98.85 6 1.15 — — 522 Vanderburg Vigo 349 92.82 27 7.18 — — 376 Warrick 125 67.93 59 32.07 — — 184 Washington 335 34.68 631 65.32 — — 966 Subtotal 9,287 75.24 2,997 24.28 59 0.48 0 0.00 12,343 TOTAL 9,287 75.11 2,997 24.24 80 0.65 1 0.01 12,365

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