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All 14North Carolina votes to theElectoral College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 County results Congressional district results
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The1956 United States presidential election in North Carolina took place on November 6, 1956, as part of the1956 United States presidential election. North Carolina voters chose 14[3] representatives, or electors, to theElectoral College, who voted forpresident andvice president.
As a former Confederate state, North Carolina had a history ofJim Crow laws,disfranchisement of itsAfrican-American population and dominance of the Democratic Party in state politics. However, unlike the Deep South, the Republican Party had sufficienthistoric Unionist white support from the mountains and northwestern Piedmont to gain one-third of the statewide vote total in most general elections,[4] where turnout was higher than elsewhere in the former Confederacy due substantially to the state's early abolition ofthe poll tax in 1920.[5] LikeVirginia,Tennessee andOklahoma, the relative strength of Republican opposition meant that North Carolina never had statewidewhite primaries, although certain counties did use a white primary until it was banned bySmith v. Allwright.[6]
Following the banning of white primaries by the Supreme Court, North Carolina in 1948 offered less support to theDixiecrat bolt than any other former Confederate state, due to the economic liberalism of its Black Belt and solid Democratic party discipline due to consistent Republican opposition.[7] Although there was little satisfaction withHarry S. Truman during his second term,[8] the loyalty of the white voters of the state’s Black Belt and the previously anti-Al SmithOuter Banks meant that unlike Texas, Florida and Virginia, urban middle-class Republican voting was inadequate to carry North Carolina for Eisenhower.[9]
During the 1940s and 1950s, the proportion of blacks registered to vote in the state increased steadily from less than ten percent to around twenty percent by the time ofBrown v. Board of Education. Several Piedmont cities had blacks on their councils,[10] although blacks in rural areas generally remained without hope of registering. The state would largely escape the overt “Massive Resistance” seen in neighbouring Virginia,[11] and four of its congressmen did not sign theSouthern Manifesto.[12] Nonetheless, although the Greensboro school board voted 6–1 to desegregate within a day ofBrown,[13] no serious desegregation would take place until well into the 1960s, while two non-signers would be challenged and defeated in 1956 primaries.[b]
| Source | Rating | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Daily Press[14] | Safe D | September 29, 1956 |
| The Daily Times-News[15] | Safe D | October 26, 1956 |
| Asheville Citizen-Times[16] | Safe D | October 28, 1956 |
| Fort Worth Star-Telegram[17] | Safe D | November 2, 1956 |
| Corpus Christi Times[18] | Likely D | November 3, 1956 |
| The Philadelphia Inquirer[19] | Likely D | November 4, 1956 |
| The Salt Lake Tribune[20] | Likely D | November 4, 1956 |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Adlai Stevenson | 590,530 | 50.66% | |
| Republican | Dwight D. Eisenhower (inc.) | 575,062 | 49.34% | |
| Total votes | 1,165,592 | 100% | ||
| County[21] | Adlai Stevenson Democratic | Dwight D. Eisenhower Republican | Margin | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Alamance | 11,029 | 47.64% | 12,123 | 52.36% | -1,094 | -4.72% | 23,152 |
| Alexander | 2,710 | 41.84% | 3,767 | 58.16% | -1,057 | -16.32% | 6,477 |
| Alleghany | 1,670 | 49.57% | 1,699 | 50.43% | -29 | -0.86% | 3,369 |
| Anson | 3,598 | 68.69% | 1,640 | 31.31% | 1,958 | 37.38% | 5,238 |
| Ashe | 3,982 | 46.46% | 4,588 | 53.54% | -606 | -7.08% | 8,570 |
| Avery | 969 | 19.47% | 4,009 | 80.53% | -3,040 | -61.06% | 4,978 |
| Beaufort | 5,730 | 71.56% | 2,277 | 28.44% | 3,453 | 43.12% | 8,007 |
| Bertie | 3,373 | 87.79% | 469 | 12.21% | 2,904 | 75.58% | 3,842 |
| Bladen | 4,078 | 72.56% | 1,542 | 27.44% | 2,536 | 45.12% | 5,620 |
| Brunswick | 3,297 | 49.98% | 3,299 | 50.02% | -2 | -0.04% | 6,596 |
| Buncombe | 19,044 | 45.67% | 22,655 | 54.33% | -3,611 | -8.66% | 41,699 |
| Burke | 7,999 | 40.35% | 11,823 | 59.65% | -3,824 | -19.30% | 19,822 |
| Cabarrus | 7,173 | 33.15% | 14,462 | 66.85% | -7,289 | -33.70% | 21,635 |
| Caldwell | 6,861 | 38.78% | 10,833 | 61.22% | -3,972 | -22.44% | 17,694 |
| Camden | 813 | 70.33% | 343 | 29.67% | 470 | 40.66% | 1,156 |
| Carteret | 3,875 | 50.46% | 3,804 | 49.54% | 71 | 0.92% | 7,679 |
| Caswell | 2,468 | 67.21% | 1,204 | 32.79% | 1,264 | 34.42% | 3,672 |
| Catawba | 11,424 | 37.25% | 19,246 | 62.75% | -7,822 | -25.50% | 30,670 |
| Chatham | 4,151 | 52.68% | 3,729 | 47.32% | 422 | 5.36% | 7,880 |
| Cherokee | 2,843 | 42.60% | 3,830 | 57.40% | -987 | -14.80% | 6,673 |
| Chowan | 1,485 | 72.76% | 556 | 27.24% | 929 | 45.52% | 2,041 |
| Clay | 1,287 | 47.16% | 1,442 | 52.84% | -155 | -5.68% | 2,729 |
| Cleveland | 8,408 | 54.30% | 7,076 | 45.70% | 1,332 | 8.60% | 15,484 |
| Columbus | 7,805 | 77.24% | 2,300 | 22.76% | 5,505 | 54.48% | 10,105 |
| Craven | 6,317 | 68.12% | 2,956 | 31.88% | 3,361 | 36.24% | 9,273 |
| Cumberland | 8,862 | 56.95% | 6,699 | 43.05% | 2,163 | 13.90% | 15,561 |
| Currituck | 1,425 | 74.49% | 488 | 25.51% | 937 | 48.98% | 1,913 |
| Dare | 839 | 44.94% | 1,028 | 55.06% | -189 | -10.12% | 1,867 |
| Davidson | 9,987 | 38.17% | 16,178 | 61.83% | -6,191 | -23.66% | 26,165 |
| Davie | 2,110 | 31.45% | 4,599 | 68.55% | -2,489 | -37.10% | 6,709 |
| Duplin | 6,931 | 76.66% | 2,110 | 23.34% | 4,821 | 53.32% | 9,041 |
| Durham | 13,835 | 51.13% | 13,226 | 48.87% | 609 | 2.26% | 27,061 |
| Edgecombe | 7,830 | 80.97% | 1,840 | 19.03% | 5,990 | 61.94% | 9,670 |
| Forsyth | 15,819 | 35.01% | 29,368 | 64.99% | -13,549 | -29.98% | 45,187 |
| Franklin | 5,298 | 87.00% | 792 | 13.00% | 4,506 | 74.00% | 6,090 |
| Gaston | 15,671 | 46.32% | 18,159 | 53.68% | -2,488 | -7.36% | 33,830 |
| Gates | 1,244 | 78.49% | 341 | 21.51% | 903 | 56.98% | 1,585 |
| Graham | 1,486 | 45.75% | 1,762 | 54.25% | -276 | -8.50% | 3,248 |
| Granville | 4,013 | 73.28% | 1,463 | 26.72% | 2,550 | 46.56% | 5,476 |
| Greene | 3,285 | 93.67% | 222 | 6.33% | 3,063 | 87.34% | 3,507 |
| Guilford | 21,948 | 40.13% | 32,751 | 59.87% | -10,803 | -19.74% | 54,699 |
| Halifax | 7,860 | 77.01% | 2,346 | 22.99% | 5,514 | 54.02% | 10,206 |
| Harnett | 7,421 | 64.99% | 3,998 | 35.01% | 3,423 | 29.98% | 11,419 |
| Haywood | 7,598 | 52.21% | 6,955 | 47.79% | 643 | 4.42% | 14,553 |
| Henderson | 4,003 | 30.22% | 9,243 | 69.78% | -5,240 | -39.56% | 13,246 |
| Hertford | 2,708 | 78.79% | 729 | 21.21% | 1,979 | 57.58% | 3,437 |
| Hoke | 1,944 | 79.12% | 513 | 20.88% | 1,431 | 58.24% | 2,457 |
| Hyde | 1,028 | 67.68% | 491 | 32.32% | 537 | 35.36% | 1,519 |
| Iredell | 7,286 | 39.57% | 11,125 | 60.43% | -3,839 | -20.86% | 18,411 |
| Jackson | 3,787 | 51.95% | 3,503 | 48.05% | 284 | 3.90% | 7,290 |
| Johnston | 9,852 | 66.82% | 4,893 | 33.18% | 4,959 | 33.64% | 14,745 |
| Jones | 1,952 | 82.47% | 415 | 17.53% | 1,537 | 64.94% | 2,367 |
| Lee | 4,163 | 68.12% | 1,948 | 31.88% | 2,215 | 36.24% | 6,111 |
| Lenoir | 6,847 | 72.76% | 2,564 | 27.24% | 4,283 | 45.52% | 9,411 |
| Lincoln | 5,838 | 46.80% | 6,637 | 53.20% | -799 | -6.40% | 12,475 |
| Macon | 3,025 | 47.02% | 3,408 | 52.98% | -383 | -5.96% | 6,433 |
| Madison | 3,693 | 46.42% | 4,263 | 53.58% | -570 | -7.16% | 7,956 |
| Martin | 5,730 | 92.73% | 449 | 7.27% | 5,281 | 85.46% | 6,179 |
| McDowell | 4,392 | 44.54% | 5,468 | 55.46% | -1,076 | -10.92% | 9,860 |
| Mecklenburg | 27,227 | 37.98% | 44,469 | 62.02% | -17,242 | -24.04% | 71,696 |
| Mitchell | 1,069 | 20.03% | 4,269 | 79.97% | -3,200 | -59.94% | 5,338 |
| Montgomery | 3,088 | 47.90% | 3,359 | 52.10% | -271 | -4.20% | 6,447 |
| Moore | 4,729 | 47.45% | 5,238 | 52.55% | -509 | -5.10% | 9,967 |
| Nash | 9,969 | 78.91% | 2,665 | 21.09% | 7,304 | 57.82% | 12,634 |
| New Hanover | 10,247 | 51.97% | 9,470 | 48.03% | 777 | 3.94% | 19,717 |
| Northampton | 4,242 | 85.03% | 747 | 14.97% | 3,495 | 70.06% | 4,989 |
| Onslow | 4,692 | 74.26% | 1,626 | 25.74% | 3,066 | 48.52% | 6,318 |
| Orange | 4,743 | 51.90% | 4,396 | 48.10% | 347 | 3.80% | 9,139 |
| Pamlico | 1,376 | 59.06% | 954 | 40.94% | 422 | 18.12% | 2,330 |
| Pasquotank | 2,963 | 61.86% | 1,827 | 38.14% | 1,136 | 23.72% | 4,790 |
| Pender | 2,196 | 68.52% | 1,009 | 31.48% | 1,187 | 37.04% | 3,205 |
| Perquimans | 1,022 | 59.04% | 709 | 40.96% | 313 | 18.08% | 1,731 |
| Person | 3,433 | 66.36% | 1,740 | 33.64% | 1,693 | 32.72% | 5,173 |
| Pitt | 11,873 | 82.52% | 2,515 | 17.48% | 9,358 | 65.04% | 14,388 |
| Polk | 2,527 | 47.23% | 2,823 | 52.77% | -296 | -5.54% | 5,350 |
| Randolph | 8,404 | 38.95% | 13,174 | 61.05% | -4,770 | -22.10% | 21,578 |
| Richmond | 6,592 | 69.40% | 2,907 | 30.60% | 3,685 | 38.80% | 9,499 |
| Robeson | 10,516 | 79.06% | 2,785 | 20.94% | 7,731 | 58.12% | 13,301 |
| Rockingham | 8,896 | 49.73% | 8,991 | 50.27% | -95 | -0.54% | 17,887 |
| Rowan | 9,761 | 35.72% | 17,562 | 64.28% | -7,801 | -28.56% | 27,323 |
| Rutherford | 7,208 | 46.78% | 8,200 | 53.22% | -992 | -6.44% | 15,408 |
| Sampson | 7,197 | 51.84% | 6,685 | 48.16% | 512 | 3.68% | 13,882 |
| Scotland | 3,042 | 72.21% | 1,171 | 27.79% | 1,871 | 44.42% | 4,213 |
| Stanly | 6,693 | 38.55% | 10,667 | 61.45% | -3,974 | -22.90% | 17,360 |
| Stokes | 3,948 | 47.63% | 4,341 | 52.37% | -393 | -4.74% | 8,289 |
| Surry | 7,020 | 43.82% | 9,001 | 56.18% | -1,981 | -12.36% | 16,021 |
| Swain | 1,794 | 46.96% | 2,026 | 53.04% | -232 | -6.08% | 3,820 |
| Transylvania | 3,435 | 46.82% | 3,901 | 53.18% | -466 | -6.36% | 7,336 |
| Tyrrell | 615 | 59.42% | 420 | 40.58% | 195 | 18.84% | 1,035 |
| Union | 6,383 | 65.50% | 3,362 | 34.50% | 3,021 | 31.00% | 9,745 |
| Vance | 4,922 | 71.57% | 1,955 | 28.43% | 2,967 | 43.14% | 6,877 |
| Wake | 22,427 | 59.61% | 15,194 | 40.39% | 7,233 | 19.22% | 37,621 |
| Warren | 2,733 | 79.19% | 718 | 20.81% | 2,015 | 58.38% | 3,451 |
| Washington | 1,947 | 65.34% | 1,033 | 34.66% | 914 | 30.68% | 2,980 |
| Watauga | 3,223 | 41.01% | 4,636 | 58.99% | -1,413 | -17.98% | 7,859 |
| Wayne | 6,756 | 61.55% | 4,220 | 38.45% | 2,536 | 23.10% | 10,976 |
| Wilkes | 5,870 | 33.71% | 11,544 | 66.29% | -5,674 | -32.58% | 17,414 |
| Wilson | 8,328 | 74.64% | 2,830 | 25.36% | 5,498 | 49.28% | 11,158 |
| Yadkin | 2,361 | 30.15% | 5,469 | 69.85% | -3,108 | -39.70% | 7,830 |
| Yancey | 2,964 | 51.35% | 2,808 | 48.65% | 156 | 2.70% | 5,772 |
| Totals | 590,530 | 50.66% | 575,062 | 49.34% | 15,468 | 1.32% | 1,165,592 |
North Carolina was carried byDemocratic nomineeAdlai Stevenson ofIllinois, with 50.66 percent of the popular vote, over incumbentRepublican PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower’s 49.34 percent.[22][23] As in 1952, the key to Stevenson’s victory was the powerful loyalty of Black Belt and Outer Banks white voters. The east–west partisan split seen in 1928 and 1952 became so consistent that Stevenson won only four counties in the western bloc — with Eisenhower’s gain vis-à-vis 1952 of around 6 points concentrated in traditionally Democratic mountain and Piedmont counties[21] — but in the coastal plain Eisenhower won only Dare andBrunswick Counties. Critical help for Stevenson also came from gaining a much larger proportion of the growing urban black electorate than elsewhere in the Confederacy.[c] This was the last time until1992 that North Carolina would vote for the losing candidate in a presidential election, and is also the last time that a Republican has won the presidency without carrying North Carolina.
Eisenhower's home state for the 1956 Election was Pennsylvania
State and district results of the1956 United States presidential election | ||
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