 During his term as lieutenant governor , Breathitt was one of several proposed candidates to succeed John Rowan in the United States Senate , but the General Assembly deadlocked over the appointment and the seat went unfilled until the Assembly 's next term . In the next gubernatorial election in 1832 , Breathitt was the Democratic nominee for governor . Again , Breathitt won , but James Turner Morehead , the Whig candidate for lieutenant governor , defeated Breathitt 's running mate . Initially , Breathitt enjoyed popularity for his public condemnation of John C. Calhoun 's doctrine of nullification , but he did not fare well in state politics because the Whigs controlled the legislature . He died in office of tuberculosis on February 21 , 1834 . 
