The Whigs fielded John Matson to run again Wright in the election. The campaign focused almost exclusively on the issue of slavery and on which party was best positioned to prevent the extension of slavery into Indiana and the western territories, and which party was to blame for the state's bankruptcy which had finally been resolved in 1847. Wright had the most public record of opposing slavery as a congressman, and that seemed to help him in his decisive win at the polls. He was elected to governor, winning by 9,778 votes and took office on December 5, 1849. During the same election, the electorate also approved a constitutional convention to replace the Constitution of Indiana.