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 County results Holmes: 50–60% 60–70% Smith: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Oregon | ||
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The1956 Oregon gubernatorial special election took place on November 6, 1956. Democraticstate senatorRobert D. Holmes narrowly defeated Republican incumbentElmo Smith to win the election.
On January 31, 1956, GovernorPaul L. Patterson, who was elected in the1954 gubernatorial election, died in office of acoronary occlusion.[1] Patterson's death elevatedOregon State Senate PresidentElmo Smith to governor and a special election for November was called to fill the position for the final two years of Patterson's term.[2] The succession law was changed in 1972 so that theOregon Secretary of State is first in line to succeed the governor.[3]Lew Wallace unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Robert D. Holmes | 369,439 | 50.52 | |||
| Republican | Elmo Smith (incumbent) | 361,840 | 49.48 | |||
| Total votes | 731,279 | 100 | ||||
| Democraticgain fromRepublican | ||||||
| 1956 Oregon gubernatorial special election (by county) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County | Robert Denison Holmes Democratic | Elmo Everett Smith Republican | Margin | Total votes cast[4] | |||
| # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Baker | 3,554 | 50.71% | 3,455 | 49.29% | 99 | 1.41% | 7,009 |
| Benton | 5,217 | 39.89% | 7,862 | 60.11% | -2,645 | -20.22% | 13,079 |
| Clackamas | 23,431 | 51.28% | 22,264 | 48.72% | 1,167 | 2.55% | 45,695 |
| Clatsop | 7,928 | 61.41% | 4,981 | 38.59% | 2,947 | 22.83% | 12,909 |
| Columbia | 6,185 | 63.02% | 3,629 | 36.98% | 2,556 | 26.04% | 9,814 |
| Coos | 12,130 | 60.24% | 8,005 | 39.76% | 4,125 | 20.49% | 20,135 |
| Crook | 1,848 | 49.93% | 1,853 | 50.07% | -5 | -0.14% | 3,701 |
| Curry | 2,162 | 50.91% | 2,085 | 49.09% | 77 | 1.81% | 4,247 |
| Deschutes | 4,441 | 46.33% | 5,145 | 53.67% | -704 | -7.34% | 9,586 |
| Douglas | 13,516 | 52.62% | 12,171 | 47.38% | 1,345 | 5.24% | 25,687 |
| Gilliam | 505 | 38.52% | 806 | 61.48% | -301 | -22.96% | 1,311 |
| Grant | 1,313 | 42.44% | 1,781 | 57.56% | -468 | -15.13% | 3,094 |
| Harney | 1,171 | 43.26% | 1,536 | 56.74% | -365 | -13.48% | 2,707 |
| Hood River | 2,618 | 47.08% | 2,943 | 52.92% | -325 | -5.84% | 5,561 |
| Jackson | 13,445 | 45.26% | 16,261 | 54.74% | -2,816 | -9.48% | 29,706 |
| Jefferson | 1,131 | 45.88% | 1,334 | 54.12% | -203 | -8.24% | 2,465 |
| Josephine | 5,423 | 42.60% | 7,308 | 57.40% | -1,885 | -14.81% | 12,731 |
| Klamath | 8,956 | 49.81% | 9,026 | 50.19% | -70 | -0.39% | 17,982 |
| Lake | 1,285 | 44.62% | 1,595 | 55.38% | -310 | -10.76% | 2,880 |
| Lane | 33,241 | 53.12% | 29,335 | 46.88% | 3,906 | 6.24% | 62,576 |
| Lincoln | 5,149 | 52.08% | 4,738 | 47.92% | 411 | 4.16% | 9,887 |
| Linn | 11,807 | 51.91% | 10,936 | 48.09% | 871 | 3.83% | 22,743 |
| Malheur | 3,011 | 37.51% | 5,016 | 62.49% | -2,005 | -24.98% | 8,027 |
| Marion | 19,255 | 42.87% | 25,655 | 57.13% | -6,400 | -14.25% | 44,910 |
| Morrow | 882 | 45.07% | 1,075 | 54.93% | -193 | -9.86% | 1,957 |
| Multnomah | 129,273 | 53.04% | 114,446 | 46.96% | 14,827 | 6.08% | 243,719 |
| Polk | 4,724 | 45.39% | 5,683 | 54.61% | -959 | -9.21% | 10,407 |
| Sherman | 415 | 38.53% | 662 | 61.47% | -247 | -22.93% | 1,077 |
| Tillamook | 4,055 | 50.93% | 3,907 | 49.07% | 148 | 1.86% | 7,962 |
| Umatilla | 8,376 | 48.88% | 8,761 | 51.12% | -385 | -2.25% | 17,137 |
| Union | 4,272 | 53.45% | 3,720 | 46.55% | 552 | 6.91% | 7,992 |
| Wallowa | 1,755 | 53.17% | 1,546 | 46.83% | 209 | 6.33% | 3,301 |
| Wasco | 4,522 | 52.73% | 4,053 | 47.27% | 469 | 5.47% | 8,575 |
| Washington | 15,976 | 44.51% | 19,917 | 55.49% | -3,941 | -10.98% | 35,893 |
| Wheeler | 540 | 46.59% | 619 | 53.41% | -79 | -6.82% | 1,159 |
| Yamhill | 5,927 | 43.40% | 7,731 | 56.60% | -1,804 | -13.21% | 13,658 |
| Total | 369,439 | 50.52% | 361,840 | 49.48% | 7,599 | 1.04% | 731,279 |
