1956 United States presidential election in South Carolina

The 1956 United States presidential election in South Carolina took place on November 6, 1956, as part of the 1956 United States presidential election. South Carolina voters chose 8[3] representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Main article: 1956 United States presidential election

United States presidential election in South Carolina, 1956

November 6, 1956[1]
All 8 South Carolina votes to the Electoral College
Nominee Adlai Stevenson Unpledged electors Dwight D. Eisenhower Party Democratic Dixiecrat Republican Home state Illinois Pennsylvania[lower-alpha 1][2] Running mate Estes Kefauver Richard Nixon Electoral vote 8 0 0 Popular vote 136,372 88,509 75,700 Percentage 45.4% 29.5% 25.2%
County Results Stevenson   40-50%   50-60%   60-70%   70-80%   80–90% Unpledged   30-40%   40-50%   50-60%   60-70%   70-80% Eisenhower   30-40%   50-60%
President before election Dwight D. Eisenhower Republican Elected President Dwight D. Eisenhower Republican

South Carolina was won by Adlai Stevenson (D–Illinois), running with Senator Estes Kefauver, with 45.37% of the popular vote against incumbent President Dwight D. Eisenhower (R–Pennsylvania), running with Vice President Richard Nixon, with 25.18% of the popular vote. T. Coleman Andrews, the Dixiecrat candidate, finished second via unpledged electors.[4][5]

The 1956 election in South Carolina marks the only occasion Eisenhower placed third in a state in either of his presidential campaigns, and the second of only 3 times in the 20th century that an incumbent president had done this badly in any state. As of the 2016 presidential election, this is the last election in which Greenville County voted for a Democratic presidential candidate. It is also the last time that Lexington County was not carried by the Republican candidate.[6]

Results

United States presidential election in South Carolina, 1956

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Adlai Stevenson	136,372	45.37%
	Dixiecrat	Unpledged electors T. Coleman Andrews	88,509	29.45%
	Republican	Dwight D. Eisenhower (inc.)	75,700	25.18%
	Write-in		2	0.00%
Total votes			300,583	100%

Results by county

County	Adlai Stevenson II Democratic		Dwight David Eisenhower Republican		Unpledged Electors States’ Rights		Margin[lower-alpha 2]		Total votes cast[7]
	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
Abbeville	2,985	83.36%	339	9.47%	257	7.18%	2,646[lower-alpha 3]	73.89%	3,581
Aiken	4,280	34.81%	6,195	50.38%	1,821	14.81%	-1,915[lower-alpha 3]	-15.57%	12,296
Allendale	380	28.85%	262	19.89%	675	51.25%	-295	-22.40%	1,317
Anderson	11,344	76.80%	2,186	14.80%	1,241	8.40%	9,158[lower-alpha 3]	62.00%	14,771
Bamberg	430	22.95%	326	17.40%	1,118	59.66%	-688	-36.71%	1,874
Barnwell	1,914	63.61%	520	17.28%	575	19.11%	1,339	44.50%	3,009
Beaufort	710	25.57%	1,051	37.85%	1,016	36.59%	35[lower-alpha 4]	1.26%	2,777
Berkeley	902	24.14%	1,055	28.24%	1,779	47.62%	-724[lower-alpha 4]	-19.38%	3,736
Calhoun	341	28.90%	146	12.37%	693	58.73%	-352	-29.83%	1,180
Charleston	4,028	16.07%	7,487	29.86%	13,558	54.07%	-6,071[lower-alpha 4]	-24.21%	25,073
Cherokee	3,687	75.21%	907	18.50%	308	6.28%	2,780[lower-alpha 3]	56.71%	4,902
Chester	2,951	62.80%	1,007	21.43%	741	15.77%	1,944[lower-alpha 3]	41.37%	4,699
Chesterfield	3,559	71.35%	795	15.94%	634	12.71%	2,764[lower-alpha 3]	55.41%	4,988
Clarendon	661	24.74%	224	8.38%	1,787	66.88%	-1,126	-42.14%	2,672
Colleton	1,463	36.14%	635	15.69%	1,950	48.17%	-487	-12.03%	4,048
Darlington	2,908	40.91%	1,597	22.47%	2,603	36.62%	305	4.29%	7,108
Dillon	1,879	62.97%	313	10.49%	792	26.54%	1,087	36.43%	2,984
Dorchester	862	26.80%	504	15.67%	1,851	57.54%	-989	-30.74%	3,217
Edgefield	525	25.71%	516	25.27%	1,001	49.02%	-476	-23.31%	2,042
Fairfield	961	36.29%	519	19.60%	1,168	44.11%	-207	-7.82%	2,648
Florence	3,463	35.46%	1,855	19.00%	4,447	45.54%	-984	-10.08%	9,765
Georgetown	1,020	23.39%	1,057	24.24%	2,284	52.37%	-1,227[lower-alpha 4]	-28.13%	4,361
Greenville	11,819	43.46%	10,752	39.54%	4,622	17.00%	1,067[lower-alpha 3]	3.92%	27,193
Greenwood	4,386	64.95%	1,120	16.59%	1,247	18.47%	3,139	46.48%	6,753
Hampton	564	27.43%	359	17.46%	1,133	55.11%	-569	-27.68%	2,056
Horry	4,835	59.17%	1,092	13.36%	2,244	27.46%	2,591	31.71%	8,171
Jasper	210	16.52%	403	31.71%	658	51.77%	-255[lower-alpha 4]	-20.06%	1,271
Kershaw	1,875	34.79%	1,518	28.17%	1,996	37.04%	-121	-2.25%	5,389
Lancaster	4,398	66.26%	1,610	24.26%	629	9.48%	2,788[lower-alpha 3]	42.00%	6,637
Laurens	3,726	56.05%	1,377	20.71%	1,545	23.24%	2,181	32.81%	6,648
Lee	943	38.26%	250	10.14%	1,272	51.60%	-329	-13.34%	2,465
Lexington	2,094	36.50%	1,188	20.71%	2,455	42.79%	-361	-6.29%	5,737
Marion	1,390	43.99%	417	13.20%	1,353	42.82%	37	1.17%	3,160
Marlboro	1,769	63.22%	507	18.12%	522	18.66%	1,247	44.56%	2,798
McCormick	485	55.81%	102	11.74%	282	32.45%	203	23.36%	869
Newberry	2,671	52.07%	1,061	20.68%	1,398	27.25%	1,273	24.82%	5,130
Oconee	3,510	73.17%	911	18.99%	376	7.84%	2,599[lower-alpha 3]	54.18%	4,797
Orangeburg	2,511	36.28%	1,467	21.20%	2,943	42.52%	-432	-6.24%	6,921
Pickens	1,847	43.17%	1,747	40.84%	684	15.99%	100[lower-alpha 3]	2.33%	4,278
Richland	6,154	27.49%	6,714	29.99%	9,516	42.51%	-2,802[lower-alpha 4]	-12.52%	22,384
Saluda	1,080	47.24%	341	14.92%	865	37.84%	215	9.40%	2,286
Spartanburg	16,637	65.03%	6,822	26.67%	2,124	8.30%	9,815[lower-alpha 3]	38.36%	25,583
Sumter	937	15.53%	1,356	22.47%	3,741	62.00%	-2,385[lower-alpha 4]	-39.53%	6,034
Union	3,760	66.10%	1,252	22.01%	676	11.88%	2,508[lower-alpha 3]	44.09%	5,688
Williamsburg	683	18.20%	330	8.80%	2,739	73.00%	-2,056	-54.80%	3,752
York	6,835	59.25%	3,508	30.41%	1,192	10.33%	3,327[lower-alpha 3]	28.84%	11,535
Totals	136,372	45.37%	75,700	25.18%	88,511	29.45%	47,861	15.92%	300,583

Notes

1. Although he was born in Texas and grew up in Kansas before his military career, at the time of the 1952 election Eisenhower was president of Columbia University and was, officially, a resident of New York. During his first term as president, he moved his private residence to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and officially changed his residency to Pennsylvania.
2. Because the unpledged elector slate finished ahead of Eisenhower in South Carolina as a whole, unless noted otherwise margin given is Stevenson vote minus unpledged vote and percentage margin Stevenson percent minus unpledged slate percentage.
3. In this county where Eisenhower did run ahead of the unpledged slate, margin given is Stevenson vote minus Eisenhower vote and percentage margin Stevenson percenage minus Eisenhower percentage.
4. In this county where Stevenson ran third behind both Eisenhower and the unpledged slate, margin given is Eisenhower vote minus unpledged vote and percentage margin Eisenhower percentage minus unpledged slate percentage.

References

1. "United States Presidential election of 1956 - Encyclopædia Britannica". Retrieved June 10, 2017.
2. "The Presidents". David Leip. Retrieved September 27, 2017. Eisenhower's home state for the 1956 Election was Pennsylvania
3. "1956 Election for the Forty-Fourth Term (1961-65)". Retrieved June 10, 2017.
4. "1956 Presidential General Election Results - South Carolina". Retrieved June 10, 2017.
5. "The American Presidency Project - Election of 1956". Retrieved June 10, 2017.
6. Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
7. Scammon, Richard M. (compiler); America at the Polls: A Handbook of Presidential Election Statistics 1920-1964; p. 397 ISBN 0405077114