1956 United States presidential election
The 1956 United States presidential election happened on November 6, 1956. President Dwight D. Eisenhower won reelection to a second term. He defeated former Governor of Illinois Adlai Stevenson in a rematch of the 1952 presidential election.
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531 members of the Electoral College 266 electoral votes needed to win | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 60.6%[1] 11px 2.7 pp | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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File:ElectoralCollege1956.svg Presidential election results map. Red denotes those won by Eisenhower/Nixon, Blue denotes states won by Stevenson/Kefauver. Orange denotes won by Walter Burgwyn Jones by an Alabama faithless elector. Numbers indicate the number of electoral votes allotted to each state. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Incumbent president Dwight D. Eisenhower won the election by 457 electoral votes. Adlai Stevenson got 73 electoral votes. Walter Burgwyn Jones got one vote by a faithless elector in Alabama.
This was the last election in which Alaska and Hawaii were not states.[3]
Eisenhower suffered a heart attack in September 1955 while in Colorado for a vacation. His doctors told him not to run for another election. However, Eisenhower announced his candidacy for re-election on television in early 1956.
Candidates
Republican Party
| 1956 Republican Party Ticket | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dwight D. Eisenhower | Richard Nixon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| for President | for Vice President | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 34th President of the United States (1953–1961) |
36th Vice President of the United States (1953–1961) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Campaign | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Republican candidates
- Dwight D. Eisenhower, President of the United States (1953-1961) from Pennsylvania (Nominee)
- John W. Bricker, U.S. Senator (1947-1959) and 1944 vice presidential nominee from Ohio
- William F. Knowland, U.S. senator from California (1947-1959)
- S. C. Arnold, Secretary of State of Montana (1955-1957) (Favorite son candidate)
- Joe Foss, Governor of South Dakota (1955-1959) (Favorite son candidate)
- Dwight David Eisenhower 1952 crop.jpg
President of the United States
Dwight D. Eisenhower
from Pennsylvania
(1953–1961) - S. C. Arnold (Montana Secretary of State).jpg
Montana Secretary of State
S. C. Arnold
from Montana
(1955–1957) - John W. Bricker cph.3b31299 (cropped 3x4).jpg
Senator
John W. Bricker
from Ohio
(1947–1959) - William F. Knowland headshot.jpg
Senator
William Knowland
from California
(1945–1959) - Joe Foss official portrait as Governor.jpg
Governor
Joe Foss
from South Dakota
(1955–1959)
Democratic Party
| 1956 Democratic Party Ticket | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Adlai Stevenson II | Estes Kefauver | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| for President | for Vice President | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
_(3x4).jpg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 31st Governor of Illinois (1949-1953) |
U.S. Senator from Tennessee (1949–1963) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Campaign | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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- Adlai Stevenson close-up.jpg
Former Governor
and 1952 nominee
Adlai Stevenson II
of Illinois
(1949–1953) - SenatorKefauver(D-TN) (3x4a).jpg
Senator
Estes Kefauver
from Tennessee
(1949–1953) - Averell Harriman (2) Edit.png
Governor
W. Averell Harriman
of New York
(1955-1958) - John S. Battle (VA) (3x4 cropped).png
Former Governor
John S. Battle
of Virginia
(1950-1954)
(Favorite son) - Happy Chandler - Harris and Ewing Crop (cropped).jpg
Governor
Happy Chandler
of Kentucky
(1935-1939, 1955-1959)
(Favorite son) - James C Davis.jpg
U.S. Representative
James C. Davis
from Georgia
(1947–1963)
(Favorite son) Governor
Frank Lausche
of Ohio
(1945-1947, 1949–1957)
(Favorite son)- John W. McCormack (Speaker of the US House)(b) (1) (cropped).jpg
U.S. Representative
John W. McCormack
from Massachusetts
(1928–1971)
(Favorite son) - SC Gov. George Timmerman (cropped).jpg
Governor
George Bell Timmerman Jr.
of South Carolina
(1955–1959)
(Favorite son)
1956 United States Presidential Election Media
- Republican Disc.svg
Republican Party (United States)
- Richard Nixon official portrait as Vice President (cropped).tiff
Formal portrait of Richard M. Nixon, 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953-1961.
- Democratic Disc.svg
Democratic Party (United States)
- 1956DemocraticPresidentialPrimaries.svg
Results of the 1956 Democratic presidential primaries.
- SenatorKefauver(D-TN).jpg
- SenatorKefauver(DTN)
- John F. Kennedy - NARA - 518134.jpg
John F. Kennedy - NARA - 518134
References
- ↑ "Voter Turnout in Presidential Elections". The American Presidency Project. UC Santa Barbara.
- ↑ "1956 Electoral College Results". National Archives. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
- ↑ "1956 Presidential Election". 270 To Win. Retrieved December 15, 2012.
Other websites
Media related to 1956 United States presidential election at Wikimedia Commons
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