1956 United States presidential election in California
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 86.56% (of registered voters)  0.29 pp 67.59% (of eligible voters) 6.48 pp[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 County Results
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Elections in California |
|---|
 |
The 1956 United States presidential election in California took place in November 1956 as part of the 1956 United States presidential election. State voters chose 32 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The Democratic primary in California was seen as such a decisive win for Adlai Stevenson that it ended the insurgent Kefauver campaign.
California voted for the Republican incumbent, Dwight D. Eisenhower (with incumbent vice president and California native Richard Nixon as his running mate), in a landslide over the Democratic challenger, former Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson. However, Stevenson did improve his performance in California from four years previous. California's result was about 4.3% more Democratic than the nation-at-large.
As of the 2024 presidential election, this is the last presidential election in California where the Republican candidate won the counties of Alameda and San Francisco, both of which have become strongholds of the Democratic Party.
Results
[edit]| 1956 United States presidential election in California[4] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Partys | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
| Republican | Dwight D. Eisenhower (incumbent) | 3,027,668 | 55.39% | 32 | |
| Democratic | Adlai Stevenson | 2,420,135 | 44.27% | 0 | |
| Prohibition | Enoch A. Holtwick | 11,119 | 0.20% | 0 | |
| No party | T. Coleman Andrews (write-in) | 6,087 | 0.11% | 0 | |
| No party | Write-ins | 819 | 0.01% | 0 | |
| No party | Eric Hass (write-in) | 300 | 0.01% | 0 | |
| No party | Darlington Hoopes (write-in) | 123 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| No party | Farrell Dobbs (write-in) | 96 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| No party | Gerald L. K. Smith (write-in) | 8 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| Invalid or blank votes | — | ||||
| Totals | 5,466,355 | 100.00% | 32 | ||
| Voter turnout | — | ||||
Results by county
[edit]| County | Dwight D. Eisenhower Republican |
Adlai Stevenson Democratic |
Various candidates Other parties |
Margin | Total votes cast | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Alameda | 192,911 | 52.40% | 174,033 | 47.27% | 1,187 | 0.33% | 18,878 | 5.13% | 368,131 |
| Alpine | 114 | 79.72% | 29 | 20.28% | 0 | 0.00% | 85 | 59.44% | 143 |
| Amador | 2,126 | 49.16% | 2,181 | 50.43% | 18 | 0.41% | -55 | -1.27% | 4,325 |
| Butte | 18,382 | 58.43% | 12,933 | 41.11% | 147 | 0.46% | 5,449 | 17.32% | 31,462 |
| Calaveras | 2,843 | 57.91% | 2,049 | 41.74% | 17 | 0.35% | 794 | 16.17% | 4,909 |
| Colusa | 2,474 | 53.23% | 2,171 | 46.71% | 3 | 0.06% | 303 | 6.52% | 4,648 |
| Contra Costa | 74,971 | 50.98% | 71,733 | 48.78% | 347 | 0.24% | 3,238 | 2.20% | 147,051 |
| Del Norte | 2,918 | 53.18% | 2,552 | 46.51% | 17 | 0.31% | 366 | 6.67% | 5,487 |
| El Dorado | 4,613 | 53.60% | 3,957 | 45.97% | 37 | 0.43% | 656 | 7.63% | 8,607 |
| Fresno | 51,611 | 43.33% | 67,234 | 56.44% | 270 | 0.23% | -15,623 | -13.11% | 119,115 |
| Glenn | 3,463 | 51.96% | 3,192 | 47.89% | 10 | 0.15% | 271 | 4.07% | 6,665 |
| Humboldt | 19,019 | 52.57% | 17,025 | 47.06% | 133 | 0.37% | 1,994 | 5.51% | 36,177 |
| Imperial | 10,526 | 56.05% | 8,197 | 43.65% | 58 | 0.30% | 2,329 | 12.40% | 18,781 |
| Inyo | 3,524 | 66.19% | 1,782 | 33.47% | 18 | 0.34% | 1,742 | 32.72% | 5,324 |
| Kern | 46,220 | 51.31% | 43,533 | 48.33% | 322 | 0.36% | 2,687 | 2.98% | 90,075 |
| Kings | 6,195 | 42.28% | 8,417 | 57.45% | 40 | 0.27% | -2,222 | -15.17% | 14,652 |
| Lake | 4,073 | 64.84% | 2,185 | 34.78% | 24 | 0.38% | 1,888 | 30.06% | 6,282 |
| Lassen | 2,533 | 42.48% | 3,412 | 57.22% | 18 | 0.30% | -879 | -14.74% | 5,963 |
| Los Angeles | 1,260,206 | 55.38% | 1,007,887 | 44.29% | 7,331 | 0.33% | 252,319 | 11.09% | 2,275,424 |
| Madera | 5,239 | 42.12% | 7,162 | 57.58% | 38 | 0.30% | -1,923 | -15.46% | 12,439 |
| Marin | 33,792 | 65.94% | 17,301 | 33.76% | 151 | 0.30% | 16,491 | 32.18% | 51,244 |
| Mariposa | 1,577 | 60.31% | 1,031 | 39.43% | 7 | 0.26% | 546 | 20.88% | 2,615 |
| Mendocino | 10,327 | 56.94% | 7,767 | 42.82% | 43 | 0.24% | 2,560 | 14.12% | 18,137 |
| Merced | 11,430 | 45.99% | 13,366 | 53.78% | 56 | 0.23% | -1,936 | -7.79% | 24,852 |
| Modoc | 1,981 | 53.21% | 1,729 | 46.44% | 13 | 0.35% | 252 | 6.77% | 3,723 |
| Mono | 673 | 73.79% | 237 | 25.99% | 2 | 0.22% | 436 | 47.80% | 912 |
| Monterey | 29,514 | 59.54% | 19,932 | 40.21% | 127 | 0.25% | 9,582 | 19.33% | 49,573 |
| Napa | 13,610 | 55.93% | 10,623 | 43.66% | 100 | 0.41% | 2,987 | 12.27% | 24,333 |
| Nevada | 5,475 | 59.69% | 3,667 | 39.98% | 31 | 0.33% | 1,808 | 19.71% | 9,173 |
| Orange | 113,510 | 66.82% | 54,895 | 32.31% | 1,474 | 0.87% | 58,615 | 34.51% | 169,879 |
| Placer | 9,059 | 45.89% | 10,611 | 53.76% | 69 | 0.35% | -1,552 | -7.87% | 19,739 |
| Plumas | 2,267 | 41.87% | 3,127 | 57.75% | 21 | 0.38% | -860 | -15.88% | 5,415 |
| Riverside | 56,766 | 62.16% | 34,098 | 37.34% | 465 | 0.50% | 22,668 | 24.82% | 91,329 |
| Sacramento | 67,686 | 45.10% | 82,134 | 54.73% | 260 | 0.17% | -14,448 | -9.63% | 150,080 |
| San Benito | 3,252 | 59.53% | 2,201 | 40.29% | 10 | 0.18% | 1,051 | 19.24% | 5,463 |
| San Bernardino | 86,263 | 56.88% | 64,946 | 42.83% | 443 | 0.29% | 21,317 | 14.05% | 151,652 |
| San Diego | 195,742 | 64.47% | 106,716 | 35.15% | 1,147 | 0.38% | 89,026 | 29.32% | 303,605 |
| San Francisco | 173,648 | 51.53% | 161,766 | 48.01% | 1,553 | 0.46% | 11,882 | 3.52% | 336,967 |
| San Joaquin | 44,491 | 54.52% | 36,941 | 45.27% | 168 | 0.21% | 7,550 | 9.25% | 81,600 |
| San Luis Obispo | 16,223 | 58.47% | 11,407 | 41.11% | 118 | 0.42% | 4,816 | 17.36% | 27,748 |
| San Mateo | 100,049 | 61.04% | 63,637 | 38.83% | 217 | 0.13% | 36,412 | 22.21% | 163,903 |
| Santa Barbara | 31,294 | 64.55% | 16,925 | 34.91% | 265 | 0.54% | 14,369 | 29.64% | 48,484 |
| Santa Clara | 105,657 | 59.09% | 72,528 | 40.56% | 633 | 0.35% | 33,129 | 18.53% | 178,818 |
| Santa Cruz | 22,109 | 63.58% | 12,574 | 36.16% | 93 | 0.26% | 9,535 | 27.42% | 34,776 |
| Shasta | 8,833 | 43.84% | 11,239 | 55.78% | 77 | 0.38% | -2,406 | -11.94% | 20,149 |
| Sierra | 638 | 50.55% | 620 | 49.13% | 4 | 0.32% | 18 | 1.42% | 1,262 |
| Siskiyou | 6,841 | 49.79% | 6,837 | 49.76% | 63 | 0.45% | 4 | 0.03% | 13,741 |
| Solano | 17,865 | 41.68% | 24,903 | 58.10% | 95 | 0.22% | -7,038 | -16.42% | 42,863 |
| Sonoma | 33,659 | 61.92% | 20,616 | 37.92% | 86 | 0.16% | 13,043 | 24.00% | 54,361 |
| Stanislaus | 26,695 | 48.60% | 28,040 | 51.05% | 192 | 0.35% | -1,345 | -2.45% | 54,927 |
| Sutter | 6,327 | 62.79% | 3,673 | 36.45% | 77 | 0.76% | 2,654 | 26.34% | 10,077 |
| Tehama | 4,866 | 53.82% | 4,143 | 45.82% | 33 | 0.36% | 723 | 8.00% | 9,042 |
| Trinity | 1,447 | 50.42% | 1,406 | 48.99% | 17 | 0.59% | 41 | 1.43% | 2,870 |
| Tulare | 26,051 | 52.50% | 23,407 | 47.17% | 160 | 0.33% | 2,644 | 5.33% | 49,618 |
| Tuolumne | 3,619 | 52.12% | 3,310 | 47.67% | 14 | 0.21% | 309 | 4.45% | 6,943 |
| Ventura | 26,342 | 49.92% | 26,276 | 49.80% | 149 | 0.28% | 66 | 0.12% | 52,767 |
| Yolo | 9,347 | 47.99% | 10,075 | 51.72% | 57 | 0.29% | -728 | -3.73% | 19,479 |
| Yuba | 4,782 | 55.76% | 3,767 | 43.92% | 27 | 0.32% | 1,015 | 11.84% | 8,576 |
| Total | 3,027,668 | 55.39% | 2,420,135 | 44.27% | 18,552 | 0.34% | 607,533 | 11.12% | 5,466,355 |
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
[edit]Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Historical Voter Registration and Participation in Statewide General Elections 1910-2018" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
- ^ Although he was born in Texas and grew up in Kansas before his military career, at the time of his 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.
- ^ "The Presidents". David Leip. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
Eisenhower's home state for the 1956 Election was Pennsylvania
- ^ "1956 Presidential General Election Results - California". Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas. Retrieved August 25, 2008.
