 Complete the following phrase:  Although John Crittendens Senate term did not expire until 1861, the Kentucky General Assembly met to choose his successor in 1859. Until just days before the election, the contest was expected to be between Breckinridge and Boyd, who had been elected lieutet governor in August; Boyds worsening health prompted his withdrawal on November 28, 1859. On December 12, the Assembly chose Breckinridge over Joshua Fry Bell, the defeated candidate in the August gubernatorial election, by a vote of 8153. In his acceptance speech, delivered to the Kentucky House of Representatives on December 21, Breckinridge endorsed the Supreme Courts decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford, which ruled that Congress could not restrict slavery in the territories, and insisted that John Browns recent 