Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 6, 1956. Incumbent Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon, were re-elected to a second term in a landslide victory, defeating Democrat Adlai Stevenson II, former Illinois governor and Senator Estes Kefauver, in a rematch of 1952.
Eisenhower, who first became famous for his military leadership in World War II, remained widely popular. A heart attack in 1955 provoked speculation that he would not seek a second term, but his health recovered and he faced no opposition at the 1956 Republican National Convention. Stevenson remained popular with a core of liberal Democrats, but held no office and had no real base. He defeated New York Governor W. Averell Harriman and several other candidates on the first presidential ballot of the 1956 Democratic National Convention. Stevenson called for a significant increase in government spending on social programs and a decrease in military spending.
With the end of the Korean War and a strong economy, Eisenhower was the heavy favorite to win re-election. Supporters of the president focused on his "personal qualities ... his sincerity, his integrity and sense of duty, his virtue as a family man, his religious devotion, and his sheer likeableness", rather than on his leadership record. The weeks before the election saw two major international crises in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, and Eisenhower's handling of the crises boosted his popularity.
Eisenhower slightly improved on his 1952 majorities in both the popular and electoral vote. He increased his 1952 gains among Democrats, especially Northern and Midwestern white ethnic groups and city-dwelling and suburban White Southerners.Robert R. Alford, "The role of social class in American voting behavior", Western Political Quarterly 16.1 (1963): 180–194. Surprisingly, Eisenhower narrowly lost Missouri, a bellwether state for most of the 20th century, and which had voted for him in 1952; at the same time he carried Kentucky, Louisiana, and West Virginia, which had voted against him in the previous election. Eisenhower was the first Republican presidential candidate to win Louisiana, or any Deep South state for that matter, since 1876.
This was the sixth and most recent rematch of an American presidential election, and the second time (after 1900) that the incumbent won a rematch. This was the last election before term limits established by the Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution, which first applied to Eisenhower, became effective. This was the last presidential election before the admissions of Alaska and Hawaii in 1959, as well as the final presidential election in which the major party candidates were not both born in the 20th century. Eisenhower's victory was the first for an incumbent Republican president since 1924, and he became the first Republican to serve two full terms since Ulysses S. Grant in 1869–1877. In contrast, Stevenson became the last major party presidential candidate to be unsuccessful in more than one election.
Republican Party
1956 Republican Party ticket for Presidentfor Vice President 34thPresident of the United States(1953–1961) 36thVice President of the United States(1953–1961)Campaign
Republican candidates Early in 1956, there was speculation that President Eisenhower would not run for a second term because of concerns about his health. In 1955, Eisenhower had suffered a serious heart attack. However, he soon recovered and decided to run for a second term. (In June 1956 he also underwent surgery for ileitis.) Given Eisenhower's enormous popularity, he was renominated with no opposition at the 1956 Republican National Convention in San Francisco.
According to Steven Ambrose, Nixon was anguished that Eisenhower never liked him and had repeatedly delayed saying Nixon should be renominated for vice president. Ambrose also stated that Eisenhower favored Robert B. Anderson, a former Democrat who had served as United States Secretary of the Navy and United States Deputy Secretary of Defense, but Anderson declined to be considered. With Eisenhower worried about his health, he decided that Nixon had his shortcomings, but was better prepared to assume the presidency than any possible alternative. In Ambrose's view, "In itself, that was the highest possible tribute he could pay Nixon."Ambrose, Steven E., Nixon, Vol. 1: The education of a politician 1913-1962 (1987) p. 385 Harold Stassen was the only Republican to publicly oppose Nixon's re-nomination for vice president, and Nixon remained highly popular among the Republican rank-and-file voters. Nixon had worked hard to reshape the vice presidency. It became his platform to campaign for Republican state and local candidates across the country, and these candidates came to his defense. In the spring of 1956, Eisenhower publicly announced that Nixon would again be his running mate, and Stassen was forced to second Nixon's nomination at the Republican Convention. Unlike 1952, conservative Republicans (who had supported Robert A. Taft against Eisenhower in 1952) did not attempt to shape the platform. At the convention, Nebraska delegate Terry McGovern Carpenter voted for a fictitious "Joe Smith" for vice president to prevent a unanimous vote.
Democratic Party
1956 Democratic Party ticket for Presidentfor Vice President 31stGovernor of Illinois U.S. Senator from TennesseeCampaign
Democratic candidates
Primaries
Adlai Stevenson, the Democratic Party's 1952 nominee, fought a tight primary battle with populist Tennessee Senator Estes Kefauver for the 1956 nomination. Kefauver won the New Hampshire primary unopposed (though Stevenson won 15% on write-ins). After Kefauver upset Stevenson in the Minnesota primary, Stevenson, realizing that he was in trouble, agreed to debate Kefauver in Florida. Stevenson and Kefauver held the first televised presidential debate on May 21, 1956, before the Florida primary. Stevenson carried Florida by a 52–48% margin. By the time of the California primary in June 1956, Kefauver's campaign had run low on money and could not compete for publicity and advertising with the well-funded Stevenson. Stevenson won the California primary by a 63–37% margin, and Kefauver soon withdrew from the race.
Popular vote results Adlai Stevenson - 3,051,347 (52.3%) Estes Kefauver - 2,278,636 (39.1%) Frank Lausche - 276,923 (4.7%) Unpledged - 171,198 (2.9%) John William McCormack - 26,128 (0.4%) Others - 28,360 (0.6%) Source
Democratic National Convention At the 1956 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, New York Governor W. Averell Harriman, who was backed by former President Harry S. Truman, challenged Stevenson for the nomination. However, Stevenson's delegate lead was much too large for Harriman to overcome, and Stevenson won on the first ballot.
The roll call, as reported in Richard C. Bain and Judith H. Parris, Convention Decisions and Voting Records, pp. 294–298:
Presidential balloting, DNC 1956 Contender Vote Adlai Stevenson 905.5 W. Averell Harriman 210 Lyndon B. Johnson 80 Stuart Symington 45.5 Happy Chandler 36.5 James C. Davis 33 John S. Battle 32.5 George Bell Timmerman Jr. 23.5 Frank Lausche 5.5
Vice-presidential nomination Candidate Current position Estes Kefauver U.S. Senator from Tennessee John F. Kennedy U.S. Senator from Massachusetts Albert Gore Sr. U.S. Senator from Tennessee Robert F. Wagner Jr. Mayor of New York City Hubert Humphrey U.S. Senator from Minnesota
The highlight of the 1956 Democratic Convention came when Stevenson, to create excitement for the ticket, made the surprise announcement that the convention's delegates would choose his running mate. This set off a desperate scramble among several candidates to win the nomination. Potential vice presidential candidates had only one hectic day to campaign among the delegates before the voting began. The two leading contenders were Senator Kefauver, who retained the support of his primary delegates, and Senator John F. Kennedy from Massachusetts, who was not well known at the time. Although Stevenson privately preferred Senator Kennedy to be his running mate, he did not attempt to influence the balloting for Kennedy in any way. Kennedy surprised the experts by surging into the lead on the second ballot; at one point, he was only 15 votes shy of winning. However, a number of states then left their "favorite son" candidates and switched to Kefauver, giving him the victory. Kennedy then gave a gracious concession speech. The defeat was a boost for Kennedy's long-term presidential chances: as a serious contender, he gained favorable national publicity, yet by losing to Kefauver he avoided blame for Stevenson's loss to Eisenhower in November. The vote totals in the vice presidential balloting are recorded in the following table, which also comes from Bain & Parris.
Vice Presidential balloting, DNC 1956 Ballot 1 2 before shifts 2 after shifts Estes Kefauver 466.5 551.5 755.5 John F. Kennedy 294.5 618 589 Albert Gore Sr. 178 110.5 13.5 Robert F. Wagner Jr. 162.5 9.5 6 Hubert Humphrey 134 74.5 2 Luther H. Hodges 40 0.5 0 P.T. Maner 33 0 0 LeRoy Collins 29 0 0 Clinton Presba Anderson 16 0 0 Frank G. Clement 14 0 0 Pat Brown 1 0 0 Lyndon B. Johnson 1 0 0 Stuart Symington 1 0 0
General election Polling Poll source Date(s)administered DwightEisenhower (R) AdlaiStevenson (D) Other Undecided Margin Election ResultsNovember 6, 195657.37% 41.97% 0.66% - 15.40 GallupOct. 30-Nov. 2, 1956 57% 39% 1% 3% 18 RoperOctober 28, 1956 52% 43% - 5% 9 GallupOctober 7-12, 1956 51% 41% - 8% 10 GallupSeptember 20-25, 1956 52% 40% - 8% 12 RoperSeptember 16, 1956 48% 41% - 11% 7 GallupSeptember 9-14, 1956 52% 41% - 7% 11 GallupAugust 23-28, 1956 52% 41% - 7% 11 August 20–23: Republican National Convention August 13–17: Democratic National Convention GallupJuly 12-17, 1956 61% 37% - 2% 24 GallupApril 19-24, 1956 62% 36% - 3% 26 GallupMar. 29-Apr. 3, 1956 61% 37% - 2% 24 GallupMarch 8-13, 1956 61% 37% - 2% 24 GallupFebruary 16-21, 1956 63% 33% - 4% 30 GallupJanuary 6-11, 1956 56% 40% - 4% 16 GallupNovember 17-22, 1955 58% 39% - 3% 19 GallupAugust 25-30, 1955 59% 37% - 4% 22 GallupMay 12-17, 1955 55% 39% - 6% 16 GallupJanuary 20-25, 1955 57% 40% - 3% 17 GallupSeptember 5-10, 1954 53% 47% - - 6 GallupMarch 19-24, 1954 45% 37% - 18% 8
Campaign Stevenson campaigned hard against Eisenhower, with television ads for the first time being the dominant medium for both sides. Eisenhower's 1952 election victory had been due in large part to winning the female vote; hence, during this campaign there was a plethora of "housewife"-focused ads. Some commentators at the time also argued that television's new prominence was a major factor in Eisenhower's decision to run for a second term at the age of 66, considering his weak health after the heart attack in 1955. Television allowed Eisenhower to reach people across the country without enduring the strain of repeated coast-to-coast travel, making a national campaign more feasible.Emmet John Hughes, "52,000,000 TV Sets-How Many Votes?" The New York Times, September 25, 1960, SM23
Stevenson proposed significant increases in government spending for social programs and treaties with the Soviet Union to lower military spending and end nuclear testing on both sides. He also proposed to end the military draft and switch to an "all-volunteer" military. Eisenhower publicly opposed these ideas, even though in private he was working on a proposal to ban atmospheric nuclear testing. Eisenhower had retained the enormous personal and political popularity he had earned during World War II, and he maintained a comfortable lead in the polls throughout the campaign.