1956 United States presidential election in Wyoming

November 6, 1956[1]
All 3 Wyoming votes to the Electoral College
Nominee Dwight D. Eisenhower Adlai Stevenson Party Republican Democratic Home state Pennsylvania[2][3] Illinois Running mate Richard Nixon Estes Kefauver Electoral vote 3 0 Popular vote 74,573 49,554 Percentage 60.08% 39.92%
County Results Eisenhower   50-60%   60-70%   70-80% Stevenson   50-60%
President before election Dwight D. Eisenhower Republican Elected President Dwight D. Eisenhower Republican

Elections in Wyoming
Federal government Presidential elections 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 Presidential caucuses Democratic 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 Republican 2008 2012 2016 2024 U.S. Senate elections 1890 1895 1895 sp 1899 1901 1905 1907 1911 1913 1916 1918 1922 1924 1928 1930 1930 sp 1934 1934 sp 1936 1940 1942 1946 1948 1952 1954 1954 sp 1958 1960 1962 sp 1964 1966 1970 1972 1976 1978 1982 1984 1988 1990 1994 1996 2000 2002 2006 2008 2008 sp 2012 2014 2018 2020 2024 2026 U.S. House of Representatives elections 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1989 sp 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
State government General elections 1890 1894 1898 1902 1904 1906 1910 1914 1918 1922 1926 1930 1934 1938 1942 1946 1950 1952 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 Gubernatorial elections 1890 1892 sp 1894 1898 1902 1904 sp 1906 1910 1914 1918 1922 1924 sp 1926 1930 1932 sp 1934 1938 1942 1946 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026 Secretary of State elections 2014 2018 2022 Senate elections 2016 2018 2020 2022 House of Representatives elections 2018 2020 2022

The 1956 United States presidential election in Wyoming took place on November 6, 1956, as part of the 1956 United States presidential election. State voters chose three^[4] representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Wyoming was won by incumbent President Dwight D. Eisenhower (R–Pennsylvania), running with Vice President Richard Nixon, with 60.08 percent of the popular vote, against Adlai Stevenson (D–Illinois), running with Senator Estes Kefauver, with 39.92 percent of the popular vote, a Republican victory margin of 20.2%.^[5][6] This margin represented a slight decrease from Eisenhower's victory in the state 4 years earlier in 1952, despite the fact that he won nationwide by a larger margin. Nevertheless, Wyoming still weighed in as 2.8% more Republican than the rest of the nation. Ironically enough, despite his margins in most of the counties he won being slightly less than 1952, Eisenhower was able to improve upon his margins in the heavily unionized Sweetwater County, with the area swinging to the right by 6.7%, making him the first Republican to break 40% of the county's vote since Herbert Hoover in 1928.

Eisenhower's underperformance relative to 1952 was not unique to just Wyoming, as most of the Mountain West swung a few points against him. Given the fact that the state's economy relied heavily upon agriculture, this is possibly due to a 5 year long drought in the High Plains, which encompasses parts of Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, and New Mexico.^[7] This election was the first time that television ads were the dominant medium for both sides, with many of these ads focusing on women voters, who had been crucial to Eisenhower's 1952 victory. Stevenson promoted increases in government spending on social programs and treaties with the Soviet Union to end nuclear testing on both sides and decrease military spending. Heightened racial tensions and segregation were also a major issue in the campaign, with the Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v. Board of Education ending legal segregation in schools, a position that the Eisenhower administration supported, and one which Stevenson opposed, as he believed the federal government should not be involved in the issue, which was a complete reversal of the Democratic Party's 1948 endorsement of civil rights.^[8][9]

Ultimately however, with the end of the Korean War in July 1953, and an otherwise strong economy, voters had little to no reason to reconsider voting for Stevenson. Additionally, Eisenhower's popularity was also aided by his experience from having served as The Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe in World War II, and his popular responses to the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and Suez Canal Crisis, both of which happened weeks before the elections, made him unbeatable in what was already an uphill battle for the Democrats, and the popular incumbent even managed to carry 40% of black voters, a feat no Republican since has matched. This would be the last time that Wyoming would give 60% or more of its vote to any candidate until Richard Nixon's 1972 landslide victory, and the last time that Carbon and Laramie counties would select the Republican nominee until 1968 and 1972, respectively. This election was the first time ever that a Republican won two presidential terms by carrying Wyoming in both instances.

Results

See also

• United States presidential elections in Wyoming

References