1956 Presidential Election

Dwight D. Eisenhower won the 1956 presidential election with 457 of 531 electoral votes, defeating Adlai Stevenson II (74) by a margin of 383 electoral votes. Explore the full interactive map below.

Electoral Vote Results

Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower 457 EV
Adlai Stevenson II
Adlai Stevenson II 74 EV

531 total electoral votes · 266 needed to win.

Election Details

Winner
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Runner-Up
Adlai Stevenson II
EV Margin
383
Needed To Win
266

The 1956 map includes 531 electoral votes across 2 candidates with electoral votes.

1956 Election Background

The 1956 presidential election was a rematch of 1952. Incumbent Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower defeated Democrat Adlai Stevenson II in a larger landslide while the country weighed Cold War crises, civil rights, and Eisenhower's first-term health.

Election Day
November 6, 1956
Winner's Ticket
Dwight D. Eisenhower / Richard M. Nixon
Runner-up Ticket
Adlai Stevenson II / Estes Kefauver

Popular Vote

Winner
Dwight D. Eisenhower: 35,590,472 votes, 57.4%
Runner-up
Adlai Stevenson II: 26,022,752 votes, 42.0%
Total
62,026,908 votes reported

Key Notes

  • Eisenhower carried 41 states and won 457 electoral votes, while Stevenson won 73.
  • The campaign took place during the Suez Crisis and the Hungarian Revolution, two major Cold War-era foreign policy events shortly before Election Day.
  • Stevenson pushed a domestic program he called a New America, while Eisenhower campaigned from a position of broad personal popularity and a strong economy.
  • One Alabama elector who was pledged to Stevenson cast an electoral vote for Walter B. Jones for president and Herman Talmadge for vice president.
  • This was the second consecutive Eisenhower-Stevenson race and one of the rare presidential rematches won by the incumbent.