In the weeks prior to the second Democratic convention , a group of former Whigs and Know Nothings formed the Constitutional Union Party and nominated John Bell for president . Bell campaigned on a simple platform that emphasized unionism and sought to minimize the role of slavery , but he received little support outside of the South . The 1860 Republican National Convention passed over the initial front-runner , William Seward , and nominated Douglas 's old opponent , Abraham Lincoln . The Democratic convention reconvened in Baltimore on June 18 , and most Southern delegates once again bolted the convention . The rump Democratic convention nominated Douglas by an overwhelming margin . The party initially offered the vice presidential nomination to Benjamin Fitzpatrick , but after Fitzpatrick declined , Herschel Vespasian Johnson of Georgia agreed to serve as Douglas 's running mate . Meanwhile , the Southern Democrats held their own convention in Baltimore and nominated Vice President John C. Breckinridge for president . Breckinridge himself did not openly support secession , but he received the support of Fire-Eaters like Jefferson Davis . Douglas rejected efforts to cooperate with Breckinridge , arguing that " any compromise with the secessionists would ... give every Northern state to Lincoln . " The 1860 election essentially became two contests , with Breckinridge and Bell contesting the South and Lincoln and Douglas competing for the North
1860 Republican National Convention
1860 Republican National Convention
Stephen A. Douglas