The Republicans of Illinois’ Fifth Congressional District indeed held their congressional convention in Augusta on August 25. Delegates to the convention nominated Jackson Grimshaw as the Republican candidate for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. After the convention, Lincoln delivered an address in Augusta, then traveled to Macomb, Illinois, to deliver another address the same day.

In the case of Barret’s election over Blair in St. Louis, Blair ultimately won his bid for a new election. The new election was both for the U.S. House term remaining at the time of the new election, plus for the next term. Voters elected Barret to the shorter, remaining term and Blair to the new term. Barret served March 4, 1859 to June 8, 1860, then Blair succeeded Barret.

In the end, in the local elections of 1858, Democrat Morris beat both Grimshaw and Davis for the Fifth Congressional District’s seat in the U.S. House, winning 52.7 percent of the vote to Grimshaw’s 45.4 percent and Davis’ 1.96 percent. Pro-Douglas Democrat John P. Richmond won the state’s Eleventh Senate District seat in the Illinois Senate. As Lincoln noted in an October 24 letter to Sympson, some Democrats may have deliberately offered and promoted Davis as a national, pro-Buchanan candidate in exchange for the local election of pro-Douglas candidates such as Richmond. When the time came, Richmond cast his ballot for Douglas for U.S. senator. Although Republicans won a majority of all votes cast in Illinois in the local elections that year, pro-Douglas Democrats retained control of the Illinois General Assembly, and Douglas won reelection to the U.S. Senate. Through the campaign, however, and in particular through his participation in the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, Lincoln gained recognition as well as standing within the national Republican Party.