Abraham lincoln was a(n) in new salem, illinois, owning a business, while at the same time being a(n) , or novice, political candidate.

The answer is: entrepreneur;  fledgling

On one of his speech, Lincoln mentioned that he was involved in many entrepreneurial ventures.

He stated that he learned a lot from people with different expertise during the ventures , which helped him acquire a lot of knowledge that help him during the presidency. Along with his effort as entrepreneur, Lincoln love to spend his time fledgling on political campaign for candidates in the republican party