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 County results Johnston: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% | |||||||||||||||||
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The1956 South Carolina United States Senate election was held on November 6, 1956 to select theU.S. Senator from the state ofSouth Carolina simultaneously with thespecial Senate election. IncumbentDemocratic SenatorOlin D. Johnston handily defeatedRepublican mayor ofClemson Leon P. Crawford.
Olin D. Johnston, the incumbentSenator, faced no opposition fromSouth Carolina Democrats and avoided aprimary election.
Leon P. Crawford, the mayor of the town ofClemson inthe Upstate, faced no opposition fromSouth Carolina Republicans and avoided aprimary election.
Crawford campaigned as a defender ofstates' rights and denounced Johnston for backing theNew Deal and theFair Deal. The state Republican Party believed that Crawford could have a chance in the election if he galvanized the 128,000 registered black voters, although they were weary of being labeled as the black party. In the end, Johnston remained highly popular with the voters who were still leery of the Republican party and he easily defeated Crawford in the general election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Olin D. Johnston (incumbent) | 230,150 | 82.21% | −17.72% | |
| Republican | Leon P. Crawford | 49,695 | 17.75% | N/A | |
| No party | Write-Ins | 124 | 0.04% | N/A | |
| Majority | 180,455 | 64.46% | −35.39% | ||
| Turnout | 279,969 | 36.8 | |||
| Democratichold | |||||
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