Answer: The debates that occurred during the race helped Lincoln win fame.
Step-by-step explanation:
When Abraham Lincoln ran against Stephen Douglas in 1858 for a Senate seat for Illinois, he was a little known lawyer who was part of a new party (Republican) while Douglas was arguably the most popular politician at the time.
However, Senator Douglas had lost support within the Democratic party and needed to campaign to win. During the campaign he engaged in a number of Debates with Abraham Lincoln where Lincoln gave his own version of what Anti-slavery meant v. Douglas's version.
In the end Douglas and the Democrats won but Lincoln was not hurt by this. In a case of losing the battle and winning the war, the debates brought fame to Lincoln nationwide and especially amongst his own party which gave him the support and platform to successfully be nominated as their Presidential Candidate for the 1860 elections which he subsequently won.