Lincoln was never a Senator. He lost to Douglas. He was a one term Congressman and railroad lawyer who was politically active in the nascent Republican Party.
RE: Lincoln was never a Senator.
I think the point was to elect somebody who has EXECUTIVE experience in government for President and according to some people, Senators ( and by extension, Congressmen, much less one term congressmen like Honest Abe ) should not be considered for lack of executive experience.
My argument is this — we shouldn’t make this a sacrosanct rule.