Feeling defeat keenly, Lincoln writes to John J. Crittenden of Kentucky, who advocated re-election of Douglas. "The emotions of defeat, at the close of a struggle in which I felt more than a merely selfish interest, and to which defeat the use of your name contributed largely, are fresh upon me; but, even in this mood, I can not for a moment suspect you of anything dishonorable. Abraham Lincoln to John J. Crittenden, 4 November 1858, CW, 3:335-36.