Tuesday, November 6, 1956
1956 presidential election results
Dwight D. Eisenhower (Republican) and running mate Richard M. Nixon won with 457 electoral votes and 57.4% of the popular vote.
Tipping-point state: Florida, R+14.5 (nation R+15.4). It delivered electoral vote number 266 for the winner. What is a tipping-point state?
| Candidate | Running mate | Party | Electoral votes | Popular vote | Share | States won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dwight D. Eisenhower Won | Richard M. Nixon | Republican | 457 | 35,590,472 | 57.40% | 41 |
| Adlai Stevenson | Estes Kefauver | Democratic | 73 | 26,022,752 | 42.00% | 7 |
| Total popular votes counted | 62,026,908 | |||||
Electoral College map
Full-screen mapMargin:<55–1010–2020+points. Grey: no popular vote / no data.
* one elector from Alabama voted for Walter Jones (D)
Results by state
Download CSV| State | Dwight D. Eisenhower | Adlai Stevenson | Margin | EV | Total votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 39.4% | 56.5% 10 | 17.1 | 10 | 496,861 |
| Arizona | 61.0% 4 | 38.9% | 22.1 | 4 | 290,173 |
| Arkansas | 45.8% | 52.5% 8 | 6.6 | 8 | 406,572 |
| California | 55.4% 32 | 44.3% | 11.1 | 32 | 5,466,355 |
| Colorado | 60.0% 6 | 39.3% | 20.8 | 6 | 657,074 |
| Connecticut | 63.7% 8 | 36.3% | 27.5 | 8 | 1,117,121 |
| Delaware | 55.1% 3 | 44.6% | 10.5 | 3 | 177,988 |
| Florida | 57.2% 10 | 42.7% | 14.5 | 10 | 1,125,762 |
| Georgia | 33.3% | 66.4% 12 | 33.1 | 12 | 669,655 |
| Idaho | 61.2% 4 | 38.8% | 22.4 | 4 | 272,989 |
| Illinois | 59.5% 27 | 40.3% | 19.2 | 27 | 4,407,407 |
| Indiana | 59.9% 13 | 39.7% | 20.2 | 13 | 1,974,607 |
| Iowa | 59.1% 10 | 40.7% | 18.4 | 10 | 1,234,564 |
| Kansas | 65.4% 8 | 34.2% | 31.2 | 8 | 866,243 |
| Kentucky | 54.3% 10 | 45.2% | 9.1 | 10 | 1,053,805 |
| Louisiana | 53.3% 10 | 39.5% | 13.8 | 10 | 617,544 |
| Maine | 70.9% 5 | 29.1% | 41.7 | 5 | 351,706 |
| Maryland | 60.0% 9 | 39.9% | 20.1 | 9 | 932,827 |
| Massachusetts | 59.3% 16 | 40.4% | 19.0 | 16 | 2,348,506 |
| Michigan | 55.6% 20 | 44.1% | 11.5 | 20 | 3,080,468 |
| Minnesota | 53.7% 11 | 46.1% | 7.6 | 11 | 1,340,005 |
| Mississippi | 24.5% | 58.2% 8 | 33.8 | 8 | 248,104 |
| Missouri | 49.9% | 50.1% 13 | 0.2 | 13 | 1,832,562 |
| Montana | 57.1% 4 | 42.9% | 14.3 | 4 | 271,171 |
| Nebraska | 65.5% 6 | 34.5% | 31.0 | 6 | 577,137 |
| Nevada | 58.0% 3 | 42.0% | 15.9 | 3 | 96,689 |
| New Hampshire | 66.1% 4 | 33.8% | 32.3 | 4 | 266,994 |
| New Jersey | 64.7% 16 | 34.2% | 30.5 | 16 | 2,484,312 |
| New Mexico | 57.8% 4 | 41.8% | 16.0 | 4 | 253,926 |
| New York | 61.2% 45 | 38.7% | 22.5 | 45 | 7,095,971 |
| North Carolina | 49.3% | 50.7% 14 | 1.3 | 14 | 1,165,592 |
| North Dakota | 61.7% 4 | 38.1% | 23.6 | 4 | 253,991 |
| Ohio | 61.1% 25 | 38.9% | 22.2 | 25 | 3,702,265 |
| Oklahoma | 55.1% 8 | 44.9% | 10.3 | 8 | 859,350 |
| Oregon | 55.2% 6 | 44.7% | 10.5 | 6 | 736,132 |
| Pennsylvania | 56.5% 32 | 43.3% | 13.2 | 32 | 4,576,503 |
| Rhode Island | 58.3% 4 | 41.7% | 16.5 | 4 | 387,609 |
| South Carolina | 25.2% | 45.4% 8 | 20.2 | 8 | 300,583 |
| South Dakota | 58.4% 4 | 41.6% | 16.8 | 4 | 293,857 |
| Tennessee | 49.2% 11 | 48.6% | 0.6 | 11 | 939,404 |
| Texas | 55.3% 24 | 44.0% | 11.3 | 24 | 1,955,168 |
| Utah | 64.6% 4 | 35.4% | 29.1 | 4 | 333,995 |
| Vermont | 72.2% 3 | 27.8% | 44.4 | 3 | 152,978 |
| Virginia | 55.4% 12 | 38.4% | 17.0 | 12 | 697,978 |
| Washington | 53.9% 9 | 45.4% | 8.5 | 9 | 1,150,889 |
| West Virginia | 54.1% 8 | 45.9% | 8.2 | 8 | 830,831 |
| Wisconsin | 61.6% 12 | 37.8% | 23.7 | 12 | 1,550,558 |
| Wyoming | 60.1% 3 | 39.9% | 20.2 | 3 | 124,127 |
Shares are of the votes counted for president; bold numbers are electoral votes won. Margin is the winner’s lead over the runner-up in points.
Closest states in 1956
- Missouri Adlai Stevenson by 3,984 votes (0.22 pts)
- Tennessee Dwight D. Eisenhower by 5,781 votes (0.62 pts)
- North Carolina Adlai Stevenson by 15,468 votes (1.33 pts)
- Arkansas Adlai Stevenson by 26,990 votes (6.64 pts)
- Minnesota Dwight D. Eisenhower by 101,777 votes (7.60 pts)
- West Virginia Dwight D. Eisenhower by 67,763 votes (8.16 pts)
- Washington Dwight D. Eisenhower by 97,428 votes (8.47 pts)
- Kentucky Dwight D. Eisenhower by 95,739 votes (9.09 pts)
Flipped since 1952
- Kentucky: Democratic → Republican (10 EV)
- Louisiana: Democratic → Republican (10 EV)
- Missouri: Republican → Democratic (13 EV)
- West Virginia: Democratic → Republican (8 EV)
Source: 1956
Questions and answers
Who won the 1956 presidential election?
Dwight D. Eisenhower (Republican) won the 1956 election with 457 electoral votes, with Richard M. Nixon as vice president.
How many electoral votes did each candidate win in 1956?
Dwight D. Eisenhower 457; Adlai Stevenson 73 (out of 530).
Who won the popular vote in 1956?
Dwight D. Eisenhower received the most popular votes: 35,590,472 (57.4%) of 62,026,908 counted.
What was the closest state in 1956?
Missouri, which Adlai Stevenson won by 3,984 votes (0.22 points).
Which states flipped in 1956?
Compared with 1952, 4 states changed party: Kentucky (to Republican), Louisiana (to Republican), Missouri (to Democratic) and West Virginia (to Republican).
What was the tipping-point state in 1956?
Florida. Ranking the states by the winner's margin, it delivered electoral vote number 266; it voted Republican by 14.5 points, against Republican by 15.4 points nationally.
Official results As published by The American Presidency Project (UC Santa Barbara) and the state documents it links. How we use this data