The 1956 United States Senate elections were elections for the United States Senate that coincided with the re-election of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The 32 seats of Class 3 were contested in regular elections, and three special elections were held to fill vacancies. Although Democrats gained two seats in regular elections, the Republicans gained two seats in special elections, leaving the party balance of the chamber unchanged.

Quick Facts 35 of the 96 seats in the United States Senate 49 seats needed for a majority, Majority party ...

1956 United States Senate elections

← 1954 November 6, 1956 1958 →
1957 (TX, WI) →
35 of the 96 seats in the United States Senate 49 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Lyndon Johnson William Knowland Party Democratic Republican Leader since January 3, 1953 August 4, 1953 Leader's seat Texas California Seats before 49 47 Seats after 49 47 Seat change Popular vote 23,291,351[1][lower-alpha 1] 22,219,450[1] Percentage 50.7% 48.4% Seats up 18 17 Races won 18 17
Results of the elections:      Democratic gain      Democratic hold      Republican gain      Republican hold      No election Rectangular inset (Ky. & S. C.): both seats up for election
Majority Leader before election Lyndon Johnson Democratic Elected Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson Democratic

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Democrats defeated incumbents Herman Welker (R-Idaho), George H. Bender (R-Ohio), and James H. Duff (R-Pennsylvania), as well as winning a Republican-held seat in Colorado. Republicans defeated incumbent Earle C. Clements (D-Kentucky) as well as winning Democratic-held seats in Kentucky, New York, and West Virginia. Thus, this election caused Kentucky's Senate delegation to flip from two Democrats to two Republicans.

During the next Congress, Republican John D. Hoblitzell Jr. was appointed to the seat of deceased Senator Matthew M. Neely (D-WV), while Democrat William Proxmire won a special election for the seat of deceased Senator Joseph McCarthy (R-Wisconsin). Also, Democrat Ralph Yarborough won a special election for the seat of Price Daniel (D-Texas), who had resigned from the Senate after being elected Governor of Texas. The net result was to leave the party balance unchanged.

Colored shading indicates party with largest share of that row.

More information Parties, Total ...

Parties					Total
		Democratic	Republican	Other
Before these elections		49	47	0	96
Not up		31	30	—	61
	Class 1 (1952)	11	20	—	31
	Class 2 (1954)	20	10	—	30
Up		18	17	—	35
	Class 3 (1950→1956)	15	17	—	32
	Special: Class 1	1	0	—	1
	Special: Class 2	2	0	—	2
Incumbent retired		5	1	—	6
	Held by same party	2	0	—	2
	Replaced by other party	1 Republican replaced by 1 Democrat 3 Democrats replaced by 3 Republicans		—	4
	Result	3	3	0	6
Incumbent ran		13	16	—	29
	Won re-election	12	13	—	25
	Lost re-election	3 Republicans replaced by 3 Democrats 1 Democrat replaced by 1 Republican		—	4
	Lost renomination but held by same party	0	0	—	0
	Result	15	14	0	29
Total elected		18	17	0	35
Net change					0
Nationwide vote		23,291,351[lower-alpha 1]	22,219,450	406,207	45,917,008
	Share	50.72%	48.39%	0.88%	100%
Result		49	47	0	96

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Source: Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives^[1]

Fifteen races had a margin of victory under 10%:

Two elections in Kentucky converted both seats from Democratic to Republican. As a result, this marked the first time since 1916 that both Senate seats in a state flipped from one party to the other in a single election cycle.

Kentucky (special)

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1956 United States Senate special election in Kentucky

← 1954 November 6, 1956 1960 →

Nominee John Sherman Cooper Lawrence Wetherby Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 538,505 473,140 Percentage 53.23% 46.77%

County results Sherman:      50-60%      60-70%      70–80%      80–90% Wetherby:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election Robert Humphreys Democratic Elected U.S. Senator John Sherman Cooper Republican

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Main article: 1956 United States Senate special election in Kentucky

Following the death of Alben Barkley on April 30, 1956, Robert Humphreys was appointed June 21, 1956 to continue the term, pending a special election.^[2] Humphreys did not run in the special election to finish the term that would end in 1961.

Republican former-senator John Sherman Cooper, who had twice won special elections to that seat in 1946 and 1952, was again elected to finish the term.

More information Party, Candidate ...

1956 United States Senate special election in Kentucky^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Sherman Cooper	538,505	53.23
	Democratic	Lawrence W. Wetherby	473,140	46.77
Majority			65,365	6.46
Turnout			1,011,645
	Republican gain from Democratic

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This time, however, Cooper would be re-elected in 1960 and again in 1966, serving until his 1973 retirement.

Kentucky (regular)

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1956 United States Senate election in Kentucky

← 1950 November 6, 1956 1962 →

Nominee Thruston Ballard Morton Earle Clements Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 506,903 499,922 Percentage 50.35% 49.65%

County results Morton:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Clements:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

U.S. senator before election Earle Clements Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Thruston Ballard Morton Republican

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Main article: 1956 United States Senate election in Kentucky

First-term Democrat Earle Clements lost re-election to Republican Thruston B. Morton, who was Eisenhower's Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs.

More information Party, Candidate ...

1956 United States Senate election in Kentucky^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Thruston B. Morton	506,903	50.35
	Democratic	Earle Clements (Incumbent)	499,922	49.65
Majority			6,981	0.70
Turnout			1,006,825
	Republican gain from Democratic

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Quick Facts Nominee, Party ...

1956 United States Senate election in New York

← 1950 November 6, 1956 1962 →

Nominee Jacob Javits Robert F. Wagner Jr. Party Republican Democratic Alliance Liberal Popular vote 3,723,933 3,265,159 Percentage 53.27% 46.71%

County results Javits:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Wagner:      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election Herbert H. Lehman Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Jacob Javits Republican

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In New York, the Republican state convention met on September 10 at Albany, New York, and nominated New York State Attorney General Jacob K. Javits.^[3] The Democratic state convention met on September 10 at Albany, New York, and nominated Mayor of New York City Robert F. Wagner Jr., for the U.S. Senate.^[4] The Liberal Party endorsed the Democratic nominee, Mayor Robert F. Wagner Jr., for the U.S. Senate.^[5] On October 1, a movement was launched to vote for General of the Army Douglas MacArthur as a write-in candidate for the U.S. Senate.^[6] On October 2, MacArthur disavowed the campaign, and stated that he was not a candidate.^[7]

The Republican candidate was elected.

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1956 United States Senate election in North Dakota

← 1950 November 6, 1956 1962 →

Nominee Milton Young Quentin Burdick Party Republican Democratic–NPL Popular vote 155,305 87,919 Percentage 63.61% 36.01%

County results Young:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%      80-90%

U.S. senator before election Milton Young Republican Elected U.S. Senator Milton Young Republican

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In North Dakota, the incumbent, Republican Milton Young, sought and received re-election to his third term, defeating North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party candidate Quentin N. Burdick, son of North Dakota congressman Usher L. Burdick.^[8]

Only Young filed as a Republican, and the endorsed Democratic candidate was Quentin Burdick, the son of well-known politician Usher Burdick, and former candidate for Governor of North Dakota. Young and Burdick won the primary elections for their respective parties.

One independent candidate, Arthur C. Townley, also filed before the deadline. Townley would later seek the state's other senate seat in 1958, and was known for creating the National Non-Partisan League.

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1956 United States Senate election in Oregon

← 1950 November 7, 1956 1962 →

Nominee Wayne Morse Douglas McKay Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 396,849 335,405 Percentage 54.20% 45.80%

County results Morse:      50–60%      60–70% McKay:      50-60%

Senator before election Wayne Morse Democratic Elected Senator Wayne Morse Democratic

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In Oregon, Republican-turned-Independent-turned-Democrat Wayne Morse decided to seek re-election for his first full term as a Democrat. Morse defeated Republican candidate Douglas McKay in the hotly contested general election.^[9]