Taking place during the 1858 Illinois Senatorial contest, Abraham Lincoln debated incumbent Stephen A. Douglas eight times across the state. These debates spotlighted the issues of slavery's expansion and race relations. Douglas' supported "popular sovereignty" in which American settlers determined freedom or slavery within states entering the union. Lincoln believed that popular sovereignty worked against America's founding principles and supported the "non-extension" of slavery and. To wit, Douglas labelled Lincoln a "black Republican" for his support of the Declaration Independence's principle of equality. Although Lincoln lost the election, he rose to prominence as a national political figure, helping secure his candidacy for Presidency in 1860.