1956 Democratic Party presidential primaries

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1956 Democratic Party presidential primaries
Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg
  1952 March 11 to June 5, 1956 1960  
  Adlai Stevenson (1).jpg Estes Kefauver (1).jpg
Candidate Adlai Stevenson Estes Kefauver
Home state Illinois Tennessee
Contests won79
Popular vote3,069,5042,283,172
Percentage50.7%37.7%

1956DemocraticPresidentialPrimaries.svg

Previous Democratic nominee

Adlai Stevenson

Democratic nominee

Adlai Stevenson

From March 11 to June 5, 1956, voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for president in the 1956 United States presidential election. Former Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson was selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the 1956 Democratic National Convention held from August 13 to August 17, 1956, in Chicago, Illinois. This was the party's second consecutive nomination of Stevenson.

Contents

Candidates

Major candidates

These candidates participated in multiple state delegate election contests or were included in multiple major national polls.

CandidateMost recent positionHome stateCampaign
Portrait of Ambassador Adlai E. Stevenson II (3x4 crop).jpg

Adlai Stevenson II

Democratic nominee for President
(1952)

Former Governor of Illinois
(1949–53)
Flag of Illinois.svg  Illinois (Campaign)
Estes Kefauver (1).jpg

Estes Kefauver

U.S. Senator from Tennessee
(1949–63)

U.S. Representative from Tennessee
(1939–49)
Flag of Tennessee.svg  Tennessee Estes Kefauver 1952 campaign logo.png
Withdrew: June 1956
(Campaign)
William Averell Harriman.jpg

W. Averell Harriman

Governor of New York
(1955–58)

United States Secretary of Commerce
(1946–48)
United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom
(1946)
United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union
(1943–46)
Flag of New York.svg  New York

Favorite sons

The following candidates ran only in their home state's primary or caucuses for the purpose of controlling its delegate slate at the convention and did not appear to be considered national candidates by the media.

Primary campaign

Estes Kefauver sought the Democratic presidential nomination, as he had in 1952. Initially, he again won some Democratic Party presidential primaries.

In the March 13, 1956 New Hampshire presidential primary, Kefauver defeated Stevenson, his only formidable opponent for the nomination, by a margin of 21,701 to 3,806.

A week later, Kefauver defeated Stevenson in the March 20, 1956 Minnesota presidential primary, winning 245,885 votes compared to Stevenson's 186,723 votes. Kefauver was also victorious in the Wisconsin presidential primary. By April 1956, "it appeared that Kefauver was on his way to a primary sweep matching the spectacular performance in 1952." [1]

Florida primary

One of the first televised United States presidential debates was held as an hour long one-on-one debate between the party's top-two contenders, Kefauver and Stevenson. [2] [3] The debate was held in Miami, Florida ahead of the state's primary. [2] [3]

Russell Baker of The New York Times wrote that the two contenders took near-identical stances on most of the issues discussed in the debate. [2]

California primary

The June California primary proved decisive for the nomination, delivering Stevenson a major victory and leading to the suspension of Kefauver's campaign for the nomination.

Polling

National polling

Poll sourcePublication
Averell Harriman
Lyndon Baines Johnson
Estes Kefauver
Frank Lausche
Adlai Stevenson
Stuart Symington
Harry S. Truman
Gallup [4] Aug. 195317%53%1%11%
Gallup [4] Aug. 195422%57%
Gallup [4] Nov. 19544%16%2%58%
Gallup [4] Mar. 195514%48%2%5%1%
Gallup [4] Apr. 195517%37%4%3%1%
Gallup [4] Aug. 19556%1%16%55%1%
Gallup [4] Oct. 19558%16%2%51%2%
Gallup [4] Nov. 195510%1%11%1%48%1%1%
Gallup [4] Nov. 19558%12%38%
Gallup [4] Dec. 19558%17%3%51%
Gallup [4] Jan. 19568%3%17%3%49%
Gallup [4] Feb. 19568%2%18%2%51%1%
Gallup [4] Apr. 19566%3%33%2%39%2%
Gallup [4] Apr. 19566%4%29%3%41%2%
Gallup [4] June 19568%4%26%3%42%3%
Gallup [4] June 195612%4%16%3%45%4%

See also

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References

  1. Gorman, Joseph Bruce. Kefauver: A Political Biography. NY: Oxford University Press, 1971.
  2. 1 2 3 "Stevenson, Kefauver Find Agreement in TV Debate; H-Bomb Tests Noted STEVENSON FACES KEFAUVER ON TV". The New York Times. 22 May 1956. Retrieved 10 September 2020 via timesmachine.nytimes.com.
  3. 1 2 "1st-Ever Televised Presidential Debate From 1956 Now Online". Illinois Public Media. 15 June 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 "US President - D Primaries Polling". OurCampaigns.com. 11 Dec 2010. Retrieved 26 April 2020.