Passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and its effective repeal of the Missouri Compromise had reawakened Lincoln’s passion for politics, and he threw himself into the congressional election campaign in the fall of 1854, crisscrossing Illinois to deliver speeches against the Kansas-Nebraska Act and in support of anti-Nebraska candidates. He even allowed himself to become a candidate for the Illinois General Assembly (albeit unwillingly at first). As the election campaign reached its climax, Lincoln’s name began to circulate as a possible nominee for one of the state’s U.S. Senate seats.

Similarly, Richard Yates had sought reelection to the U.S. House of Representatives as the representative for Illinois’ Sixth Congressional District. Thomas L. Harris, Yates’ Democratic opponent, defeated him by 200 votes. Harris garnered 50.5 percent of the vote to Yates’ 49.5 percent.

Despite these losses, the state’s voters sent an anti-Nebraska majority to the U.S. House of Representatives and the Illinois General Assembly. Boal and Lincoln both won seats in the Illinois House of Representatives. In late-November 1854, however, Lincoln declined to serve in order to run for the U.S. Senate. Boal wrote Lincoln another letter on December 7, 1854 on the subject. Ultimately, Lincoln did not win election to the U.S. Senate; the Illinois General Assembly selected anti-Nebraska Democrat Lyman Trumbull instead. Boal cast his vote for Lincoln on nine ballots before switching to Trumbull in the final ballot. See the 1854 Federal Election.