1956 Democratic Party presidential primaries

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1956 Democratic Party presidential primaries

← 1952 March 11 to June 5, 1956 1960 →
 
Candidate Adlai Stevenson Estes Kefauver
Home state Illinois Tennessee
Contests won 7 9
Popular vote 3,069,504 2,283,172
Percentage 50.7% 37.7%


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.

Candidates[edit]

Major candidates[edit]

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

Candidate Most recent position Home state Campaign

Adlai Stevenson II

Democratic nominee for President
(1952)

Former Governor of Illinois
(1949–53)
 Illinois (Campaign)

Estes Kefauver

U.S. Senator from Tennessee
(1949–63)

U.S. Representative from Tennessee
(1939–49)
 Tennessee
Withdrew: June 1956
(Campaign)

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)
 New York

Favorite sons[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

National polling[edit]

Poll source Publication
Averell Harriman
Lyndon Baines Johnson
Estes Kefauver
Frank Lausche
Adlai Stevenson
Stuart Symington
Harry S. Truman
Gallup[4] Aug. 1953 17% 53% 1% 11%
Gallup[4] Aug. 1954 22% 57%
Gallup[4] Nov. 1954 4% 16% 2% 58%
Gallup[4] Mar. 1955 14% 48% 2% 5% 1%
Gallup[4] Apr. 1955 17% 37% 4% 3% 1%
Gallup[4] Aug. 1955 6% 1% 16% 55% 1%
Gallup[4] Oct. 1955 8% 16% 2% 51% 2%
Gallup[4] Nov. 1955 10% 1% 11% 1% 48% 1% 1%
Gallup[4] Nov. 1955 8% 12% 38%
Gallup[4] Dec. 1955 8% 17% 3% 51%
Gallup[4] Jan. 1956 8% 3% 17% 3% 49%
Gallup[4] Feb. 1956 8% 2% 18% 2% 51% 1%
Gallup[4] Apr. 1956 6% 3% 33% 2% 39% 2%
Gallup[4] Apr. 1956 6% 4% 29% 3% 41% 2%
Gallup[4] June 1956 8% 4% 26% 3% 42% 3%
Gallup[4] June 1956 12% 4% 16% 3% 45% 4%

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Gorman, Joseph Bruce. Kefauver: A Political Biography. NY: Oxford University Press, 1971.
  2. ^ a b c "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. ^ a b "1st-Ever Televised Presidential Debate From 1956 Now Online". Illinois Public Media. 15 June 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "US President - D Primaries Polling". OurCampaigns.com. 11 Dec 2010. Retrieved 26 April 2020.