 The incident further heightened sectional tensions.By 1860, the Republicans controlled the Governor's office and the General Court of Massachusetts.During the 1860 presidential election, 63 percent of Massachusetts voters supported Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party, 20 percent supported Stephen Douglas of the northern wing of the Democratic Party, 13 percent supported John Bell and the temporary third party Constitutional Union Party and 4 percent supported John C. Breckinridge.