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 County results Congressional district results
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The1956 United States presidential election in Florida was held on November 6, 1956, as part ofthe concurrent United States presidential election. Florida voters chose ten electors, or representatives tothe Electoral College, who voted forpresident andvice president.
Except for the 1928 election when fierce anti-Catholicism and Prohibitionism causedHerbert Hoover to defeat the wet CatholicAl Smith,[2] Florida since the end of Reconstruction had been a classic Southern one-party state dominated by the Democratic Party.Disfranchisement ofAfrican-Americans and many poor whites had virtually eliminated the Republican Party – only nine Republicans were ever elected to the state legislature between 1890 and 1950 – whileDemocratic primaries were the sole competitive elections.
Under the influence of SenatorClaude Pepper, Florida abolished thepoll tax in 1937, leading to steady increases in voter turnout during the following several elections;[3] however, there was no marked increase in African-American voting and Democratic hegemony remained unchallenged:FDR did not lose a single county in the state during his four elections.[4]
However, the following two elections would see a rapid trend away from Democratic hegemony towards Republican dominance in newer, more liberalSouth Florida. The regions shifting rapidly towards the GOP in these two elections lacked a history of slave-based plantation farming,[5] and saw Eisenhower as more favourable to business than the Democratic Party.[6] They also had seen a very large inflow of elderly migrants fromthe Northern states who were attracted by Florida's hot climate. An example of this isCollier County in southwest Florida, home to the city ofNaples, which went Republican for the first time since the county's founding in 1923 and has never voted Democratic since. Consequently, Eisenhower was able to carry Florida by a double-digit margin in 1952, in spite of losing badly in the "Hoovercrat"pineywoods and Black Belt ofthe Panhandle.[6]
The 1956 election saw, in general, little change from trends established during the previous two elections, with the most significant exception being a marked (though temporary) trend towards Eisenhower amongst the small but increasing number of Black voters in the state.[7] Eisenhower, aided further by increased Northerner migration, won against his rematch opponent Adlai Stevenson II by 163,474 votes or 14.54%.[8] This was the first time since 1872 that a Republican carried Florida twice. This result nonetheless made Florida about 0.86% more Democratic than the nation at large.
| Presidential candidate | Party | Home state | Popular vote | Electoral vote | Running mate | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | Percentage | Vice-presidential candidate | Home state | Electoral vote | ||||
| Dwight D. Eisenhower (incumbent) | Republican | Pennsylvania | 643,849 | 57.19% | 10 | Richard Nixon (incumbent) | California | 10 |
| Adlai Stevenson II | Democratic | Illinois | 480,371 | 42.67% | 0 | Estes Kefauver | Tennessee | 0 |
| Various candidates | Write-ins[b] | — | 1,542 | 0.14% | 0 | — | — | 0 |
| Total | 1,125,762 | 100% | 10 | 10 | ||||
| Needed to win | 270 | 270 | ||||||
| County | Dwight D. Eisenhower Republican | Adlai Stevenson Democratic | Margin | Total votes cast[9] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Alachua | 7,939 | 53.54% | 6,889 | 46.46% | 1,050 | 7.08% | 14,828 |
| Baker | 366 | 20.23% | 1,443 | 79.77% | -1,077 | -59.54% | 1,809 |
| Bay | 4,971 | 36.51% | 8,645 | 63.49% | -3,674 | -26.98% | 13,616 |
| Bradford | 1,203 | 34.07% | 2,328 | 65.93% | -1,125 | -31.86% | 3,531 |
| Brevard | 10,004 | 71.81% | 3,928 | 28.19% | 6,076 | 43.62% | 13,932 |
| Broward | 43,552 | 72.45% | 16,561 | 27.55% | 26,991 | 44.90% | 60,113 |
| Calhoun | 554 | 24.57% | 1,701 | 75.43% | -1,147 | -50.86% | 2,255 |
| Charlotte | 1,589 | 63.11% | 929 | 36.89% | 660 | 26.22% | 2,518 |
| Citrus | 1,570 | 50.69% | 1,527 | 49.31% | 43 | 1.38% | 3,097 |
| Clay | 2,372 | 53.67% | 2,048 | 46.33% | 324 | 7.34% | 4,420 |
| Collier | 1,934 | 59.73% | 1,304 | 40.27% | 630 | 19.46% | 3,238 |
| Columbia | 1,841 | 36.19% | 3,246 | 63.81% | -1,405 | -27.62% | 5,087 |
| DeSoto | 1,234 | 48.41% | 1,315 | 51.59% | -81 | -3.18% | 2,549 |
| Dixie | 370 | 29.04% | 904 | 70.96% | -534 | -41.92% | 1,274 |
| Duval | 53,481 | 50.17% | 53,127 | 49.83% | 354 | 0.34% | 106,608 |
| Escambia | 13,227 | 37.21% | 22,320 | 62.79% | -9,093 | -25.58% | 35,547 |
| Flagler | 498 | 41.92% | 690 | 58.08% | -192 | -16.16% | 1,188 |
| Franklin | 571 | 37.34% | 958 | 62.66% | -387 | -25.32% | 1,529 |
| Gadsden | 1,321 | 36.87% | 2,262 | 63.13% | -941 | -26.26% | 3,583 |
| Gilchrist | 137 | 12.90% | 925 | 87.10% | -788 | -74.20% | 1,062 |
| Glades | 309 | 47.69% | 339 | 52.31% | -30 | -4.62% | 648 |
| Gulf | 570 | 24.12% | 1,793 | 75.88% | -1,223 | -51.76% | 2,363 |
| Hamilton | 464 | 23.71% | 1,493 | 76.29% | -1,029 | -52.58% | 1,957 |
| Hardee | 1,589 | 45.67% | 1,890 | 54.33% | -301 | -8.66% | 3,479 |
| Hendry | 1,071 | 51.64% | 1,003 | 48.36% | 68 | 3.28% | 2,074 |
| Hernando | 1,295 | 47.44% | 1,435 | 52.56% | -140 | -5.12% | 2,730 |
| Highlands | 3,480 | 60.25% | 2,296 | 39.75% | 1,184 | 20.50% | 5,776 |
| Hillsborough | 41,889 | 52.04% | 38,610 | 47.96% | 3,279 | 4.08% | 80,499 |
| Holmes | 1,036 | 29.17% | 2,516 | 70.83% | -1,480 | -41.66% | 3,552 |
| Indian River | 4,059 | 70.49% | 1,699 | 29.51% | 2,360 | 40.98% | 5,758 |
| Jackson | 2,543 | 29.86% | 5,973 | 70.14% | -3,430 | -40.28% | 8,516 |
| Jefferson | 540 | 31.02% | 1,201 | 68.98% | -661 | -37.96% | 1,741 |
| Lafayette | 187 | 15.07% | 1,054 | 84.93% | -867 | -69.86% | 1,241 |
| Lake | 10,888 | 71.57% | 4,326 | 28.43% | 6,562 | 43.14% | 15,214 |
| Lee | 7,565 | 62.60% | 4,520 | 37.40% | 3,045 | 25.20% | 12,085 |
| Leon | 6,828 | 49.30% | 7,022 | 50.70% | -194 | -1.40% | 13,850 |
| Levy | 934 | 33.90% | 1,821 | 66.10% | -887 | -32.20% | 2,755 |
| Liberty | 238 | 21.48% | 870 | 78.52% | -632 | -57.04% | 1,108 |
| Madison | 1,017 | 33.01% | 2,064 | 66.99% | -1,047 | -33.98% | 3,081 |
| Manatee | 11,904 | 68.82% | 5,394 | 31.18% | 6,510 | 37.64% | 17,298 |
| Marion | 6,362 | 50.99% | 6,114 | 49.01% | 248 | 1.98% | 12,476 |
| Martin | 2,997 | 68.36% | 1,387 | 31.64% | 1,610 | 36.72% | 4,384 |
| Miami-Dade | 130,938 | 55.37% | 105,559 | 44.63% | 25,379 | 10.74% | 236,497 |
| Monroe | 3,337 | 43.54% | 4,327 | 56.46% | -990 | -12.92% | 7,664 |
| Nassau | 1,717 | 38.31% | 2,765 | 61.69% | -1,048 | -23.38% | 4,482 |
| Okaloosa | 2,788 | 32.66% | 5,748 | 67.34% | -2,960 | -34.68% | 8,536 |
| Okeechobee | 575 | 40.78% | 835 | 59.22% | -260 | -18.44% | 1,410 |
| Orange | 37,482 | 72.06% | 14,532 | 27.94% | 22,950 | 44.12% | 52,014 |
| Osceola | 3,602 | 65.19% | 1,923 | 34.81% | 1,679 | 30.38% | 5,525 |
| Palm Beach | 35,746 | 71.40% | 14,321 | 28.60% | 21,425 | 42.80% | 50,067 |
| Pasco | 5,501 | 56.82% | 4,181 | 43.18% | 1,320 | 13.64% | 9,682 |
| Pinellas | 74,314 | 72.55% | 28,113 | 27.45% | 46,201 | 45.10% | 102,427 |
| Polk | 23,682 | 55.98% | 18,626 | 44.02% | 5,056 | 11.96% | 42,308 |
| Putnam | 4,212 | 56.58% | 3,232 | 43.42% | 980 | 13.16% | 7,444 |
| St. Johns | 5,104 | 56.44% | 3,940 | 43.56% | 1,164 | 12.88% | 9,044 |
| St. Lucie | 5,435 | 66.56% | 2,731 | 33.44% | 2,704 | 33.12% | 8,166 |
| Santa Rosa | 1,909 | 31.54% | 4,144 | 68.46% | -2,235 | -36.92% | 6,053 |
| Sarasota | 13,937 | 73.40% | 5,052 | 26.60% | 8,885 | 46.80% | 18,989 |
| Seminole | 5,841 | 65.15% | 3,125 | 34.85% | 2,716 | 30.30% | 8,966 |
| Sumter | 1,061 | 31.30% | 2,329 | 68.70% | -1,268 | -37.40% | 3,390 |
| Suwannee | 1,046 | 24.85% | 3,163 | 75.15% | -2,117 | -50.30% | 4,209 |
| Taylor | 776 | 28.52% | 1,945 | 71.48% | -1,169 | -42.96% | 2,721 |
| Union | 218 | 18.54% | 958 | 81.46% | -740 | -62.92% | 1,176 |
| Volusia | 25,103 | 63.40% | 14,489 | 36.60% | 10,614 | 26.80% | 39,592 |
| Wakulla | 393 | 26.79% | 1,074 | 73.21% | -681 | -46.42% | 1,467 |
| Walton | 1,606 | 33.24% | 3,225 | 66.76% | -1,619 | -33.52% | 4,831 |
| Washington | 1,027 | 32.18% | 2,164 | 67.82% | -1,137 | -35.64% | 3,191 |
| Totals | 643,849 | 57.27% | 480,371 | 42.73% | 163,478 | 14.54% | 1,124,220 |
Eisenhower won 6 out of 8 of Florida's congressional districts, including 4 held by Democrats.[10]
| District[10] | Eisenhower | Stevenson |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | 63% | 37% |
| 2nd | 50.3% | 49.7% |
| 3rd | 35.9% | 64.1% |
| 4th | 55% | 45% |
| 5th | 65.4% | 34.6% |
| 6th | 69.7% | 30.3% |
| 7th | 61.8% | 38.2% |
| 8th | 39.6% | 60.4% |
Eisenhower's home state for the 1956 Election was Pennsylvania
State and district results of the1956 United States presidential election | ||
|---|---|---|
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