Service in The Kentucky General Assembly
Slaughter's political career began in earnest with his 1797 election to the Kentucky House of Representatives representing Mercer County. He was named to the Committee on Enrollments, and probably served as chair, since he delivered the committee's reports to the Assembly. It is unclear whether he did not seek re-election in 1798, or whether he was defeated in that year's canvass. Whatever the case, he filled the space of his legislative hiatus by serving as trustee of the newly incorporated Harrodsburg Academy. He was re-elected to the state House in 1799. In addition to the Committee on Enrollments, he served on the Committee on Privileges and Elections and a joint committee that reported on the state of the Auditor's, Treasurer's, and Registrar's offices. Records show that he also served as chairman when the House sat as a committee of the whole on November 25, 1799.
Slaughter was re-elected to the state House in 1800, and from 1801 to 1808 he served in the Kentucky Senate. In 1801, he was chosen as one of three commissioners from Mercer County charged with selling stock shares in the Kentucky River Company, which was chartered to clear obstructions in the Kentucky River from its mouth to the mouth of its south fork. In 1804, he was a candidate for President Pro Tempore of the Kentucky Senate following the death of the Senate's presiding officer, Lieutenant Governor John Caldwell. Ultimately, however, Thomas Posey proved the more popular choice. From 1807 to 1808, he served as chair of the Senate Committee of Propositions and Grievances.
Slaughter was elected lieutenant governor in 1808. In a four-man race, he received more than three times the number of votes as his nearest opponent. His four-year term under Governor Charles Scott was largely undistinguished. Although the exact date is unknown, it is likely that the death of Slaughter's second wife preceded his election as lieutenant governor. On October 3, 1811, he married his third wife, Elizabeth (Thompson) Rodes, a widow from Scott County.
Prohibited by the Kentucky Constitution from succeeding himself as lieutenant governor, Slaughter ran for governor of Kentucky in 1812. The impending war with England, however, drew military hero and former governor Isaac Shelby into the race. Despite Shelby's immense popularity, Slaughter refused to withdraw from the race and was soundly beaten by more than a two-to-one margin. Following his defeat, Slaughter took a two-year hiatus from public life, and engaged in farming at his estate in Mercer County.
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