United States presidential election in Minnesota, 1956

United States presidential election in Minnesota, 1956

November 6, 1956

Nominee Dwight D. Eisenhower Adlai Stevenson Party Republican Democratic Home state Pennsylvania Illinois Running mate Richard Nixon Estes Kefauver Electoral vote 11 0 Popular vote 719,302 617,525 Percentage 53.7% 46.1%

County Results

President before election Dwight D. Eisenhower Republican Elected President Dwight D. Eisenhower Republican

Elections in Minnesota
General elections 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018
Federal elections Presidential elections 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 Senate elections Class 1 1982 1988 1994 2000 2006 2012 2018 Class 2 1978 1984 1990 1996 2002 2008 2014 2020 House of Representatives elections 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018
State executive elections Gubernatorial elections 1857 1859 1861 1863 1865 1867 1869 1871 1873 1875 1877 1879 1881 1883 1886 1888 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 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 Lieutenant gubernatorial elections 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 1966 1970 Secretary of State elections 2010 2014 2018 State Auditor elections 2006 2010 2014 2018 Attorney General elections 2010 2014 2018
State legislative elections Senate elections 1976 1980 1982 1986 1990 1992 1996 2000 2002 2006 2010 2012 2016 2020 House of Representatives elections 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 Special elections Senate House of Representatives
Ballot questions 2012 Amendment 1 Amendment 2
Minneapolis General elections 2005 2009 2013 2017 Mayoral elections 2009 2013 2017 City Council elections 2009 2013 2017 Board of Estimate and Taxation elections 2009 2013 Park and Recreation Board elections 2009 2013
Saint Paul Mayoral elections 2005 2009 2013

The 1956 United States presidential election in Minnesota took place on November 6, 1956 in Minnesota as part of the 1956 United States presidential election.

The Republican Party candidate, incumbent President Dwight D. Eisenhower won the state over former Illinois governor Adlai Stevenson by a margin of 101,777 votes, or 7.6%. Eisenhower went on to win the election nationally, with 457 electoral votes and a landslide 15.4% lead over Stevenson in the popular vote. The 1956 presidential election was a rematch of the 1952 election, in which Eisenhower also defeated Stevenson, both nationally and in Minnesota.

The Democratic nomination campaign leading into 1956 presidential election may have had a major role in the end of the political career of Coya Knutson, the first woman to be elected to the United States House of Representatives from Minnesota. The Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, in a ploy to win a possible vice presidential nomination for its rising star, U.S. Senator Hubert Humphrey, desperately attempted to ensure that Stevenson would win in the DFL caucuses in Minnesota that year. However, Congresswoman Knutson, believing that the agricultural policy positions of U.S. Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee would have been more beneficial to her constituents, instead endorsed and campaigned on behalf of Kefauver. In part due to Knutson's efforts, Kefauver won the Minnesota caucus; as a result, when Stevenson was ultimately nominated, Kefauver was chosen as his running mate.

Two years later, shortly before the 1958 DFL state convention, a letter signed but not written by Knutson's husband was circulated to reporters. The contents of the letter played on anxieties over deviations from the rigid gender roles of the time, and its publication by newspapers essentially ensured Knutson's defeat in her bid for re-election that year. It has been alleged by several individuals, including Concordia College political science professor Harding Noblitt, Knutson biographer Gretchen Beito, and numerous people who were close to Knutson, that either DFL state leadership or local operatives wrote the letter and bribed Knutson's husband to sign it, as a means to exact retribution against the Congresswoman for denying Humphrey a shot at the vice presidential nomination in 1956.^[1]

Results

References

State Results of the 1956 U.S. presidential election
Candidates	Dwight D. Eisenhower Adlai Stevenson Full list
General articles	Election timeline Democratic primaries Republican primaries Republican Convention Democratic Convention Debates
Local results	Alabama Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Other 1956 elections	House Senate Gubernatorial

Elections in Minnesota
General elections 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018
State elections Executive elections Gubernatorial elections 1857 1859 1861 1863 1865 1867 1869 1871 1873 1875 1877 1879 1881 1883 1886 1888 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 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 Lieutenant gubernatorial elections 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 1966 1970 Secretary of State elections 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 State Auditor elections 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 Attorney General elections 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 Legislative elections Senate elections 1976 1980 1982 1986 1990 1992 1996 2000 2002 2006 2010 2012 2016 2020 House of Representatives elections 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 Ballot questions 2012 Amendment 1 Amendment 2 Special elections Senate House of Representatives
Federal elections Presidential elections 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 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 Senate elections Class 1 1982 1988 1994 2000 2006 2012 2018 Class 2 1978 1984 1990 1996 2002 2008 2014 2020 House of Representatives elections 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018
Municipal elections Minneapolis General elections 2005 2009 2013 2017 Mayoral elections 2009 2013 2017 City Council elections 2009 2013 2017 Board of Estimate and Taxation elections 2009 2013 Park and Recreation Board elections 2009 2013 Saint Paul Mayoral elections 2005 2009 2013