After considering a large number of candidates, the representatives to the Republican Convention eventually settle on Abraham Lincoln as the party's nominee for president of the United States. Most famous for losing a U.S. Senate election against Senator Stephen A. Douglas, Lincoln overcomes his rivals by presenting himself as a moderate with few political enemies inside the party. Despite his distinct lack of political experience, Lincoln wins the nomination and the election of 1860, and he goes on to be president during the most trying period of United States history.