1956 United States presidential election in North Carolina

Main article: 1956 United States presidential election

1956 United States presidential election in North Carolina

←  1952 November 6, 1956 [1] 1960  →
All 14 North Carolina votes to the Electoral College
Nominee Adlai Stevenson Dwight D. Eisenhower Party Democratic Republican Home state Illinois Pennsylvania [lower-alpha 1] [2] Running mate Estes Kefauver Richard Nixon Electoral vote 14 0 Popular vote 590,530 575,062 Percentage 50.66% 49.34%
County results Congressional district results Stevenson   50-60%   60-70%   70-80%   80-90%   90-100% Eisenhower   50-60%   60-70%   70-80%   80-90%
President before election Dwight D. Eisenhower Republican Elected President Dwight D. Eisenhower Republican

The 1956 United States presidential election in North Carolina took place on November 6, 1956, as part of the 1956 United States presidential election. North Carolina voters chose 14 ^[3] representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

As a former Confederate state, North Carolina had a history of Jim Crow laws, disfranchisement of its African-American population and dominance of the Democratic Party in state politics. However, unlike the Deep South, the Republican Party had sufficient historic 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 of the poll tax in 1920. ^[5] Like Virginia, Tennessee and Oklahoma, the relative strength of Republican opposition meant that North Carolina never had statewide white primaries, although certain counties did use a white primary until it was banned by Smith v. Allwright . ^[6]

Following the banning of white primaries by the Supreme Court, North Carolina in 1948 offered less support to the Dixiecrat 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 with Harry S. Truman during his second term, ^[8] the loyalty of the white voters of the state’s Black Belt and the previously anti-Al Smith Outer 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 of Brown 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 the Southern Manifesto. ^[12] Nonetheless, although the Greensboro school board voted 6–1 to desegregate within a day of Brown, ^[13] no serious desegregation would take place until well into the 1960s, while two non-signers would be challenged and defeated in 1956 primaries. ^{[lower-alpha 2]}

Polls

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

Results

1956 United States presidential election in North Carolina

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%

Results by county

1956 United States presidential election in North Carolina by county ^[21]

County	Adlai Stevenson II Democratic		Dwight David Eisenhower Republican		Margin
	%	#	%	#	%	#
Greene	93.67%	3,285	6.33%	222	87.34%	3,063
Martin	92.73%	5,730	7.27%	449	85.47%	5,281
Bertie	87.79%	3,373	12.21%	469	75.59%	2,904
Franklin	87.00%	5,298	13.00%	792	73.99%	4,506
Northampton	85.03%	4,242	14.97%	747	70.05%	3,495
Pitt	82.52%	11,873	17.48%	2,515	65.04%	9,358
Jones	82.47%	1,952	17.53%	415	64.93%	1,537
Edgecombe	80.97%	7,830	19.03%	1,840	61.94%	5,990
Warren	79.19%	2,733	20.81%	718	58.39%	2,015
Hoke	79.12%	1,944	20.88%	513	58.24%	1,431
Robeson	79.06%	10,516	20.94%	2,785	58.12%	7,731
Nash	78.91%	9,969	21.09%	2,665	57.81%	7,304
Hertford	78.79%	2,708	21.21%	729	57.58%	1,979
Gates	78.49%	1,244	21.51%	341	56.97%	903
Columbus	77.24%	7,805	22.76%	2,300	54.48%	5,505
Halifax	77.01%	7,860	22.99%	2,346	54.03%	5,514
Duplin	76.66%	6,931	23.34%	2,110	53.32%	4,821
Wilson	74.64%	8,328	25.36%	2,830	49.27%	5,498
Currituck	74.49%	1,425	25.51%	488	48.98%	937
Onslow	74.26%	4,692	25.74%	1,626	48.53%	3,066
Granville	73.28%	4,013	26.72%	1,463	46.57%	2,550
Chowan	72.76%	1,485	27.24%	556	45.52%	929
Lenoir	72.76%	6,847	27.24%	2,564	45.51%	4,283
Bladen	72.56%	4,078	27.44%	1,542	45.12%	2,536
Scotland	72.21%	3,042	27.79%	1,171	44.41%	1,871
Vance	71.57%	4,922	28.43%	1,955	43.14%	2,967
Beaufort	71.56%	5,730	28.44%	2,277	43.12%	3,453
Camden	70.33%	813	29.67%	343	40.66%	470
Richmond	69.40%	6,592	30.60%	2,907	38.79%	3,685
Anson	68.69%	3,598	31.31%	1,640	37.38%	1,958
Pender	68.52%	2,196	31.48%	1,009	37.04%	1,187
Lee	68.12%	4,163	31.88%	1,948	36.25%	2,215
Craven	68.12%	6,317	31.88%	2,956	36.25%	3,361
Hyde	67.68%	1,028	32.32%	491	35.35%	537
Caswell	67.21%	2,468	32.79%	1,204	34.42%	1,264
Johnston	66.82%	9,852	33.18%	4,893	33.63%	4,959
Person	66.36%	3,433	33.64%	1,740	32.73%	1,693
Union	65.50%	6,383	34.50%	3,362	31.00%	3,021
Washington	65.34%	1,947	34.66%	1,033	30.67%	914
Harnett	64.99%	7,421	35.01%	3,998	29.98%	3,423
Pasquotank	61.86%	2,963	38.14%	1,827	23.72%	1,136
Wayne	61.55%	6,756	38.45%	4,220	23.10%	2,536
Wake	59.61%	22,427	40.39%	15,194	19.23%	7,233
Tyrrell	59.42%	615	40.58%	420	18.84%	195
Pamlico	59.06%	1,376	40.94%	954	18.11%	422
Perquimans	59.04%	1,022	40.96%	709	18.08%	313
Cumberland	56.95%	8,862	43.05%	6,699	13.90%	2,163
Cleveland	54.30%	8,408	45.70%	7,076	8.60%	1,332
Chatham	52.68%	4,151	47.32%	3,729	5.36%	422
Haywood	52.21%	7,598	47.79%	6,955	4.42%	643
New Hanover	51.97%	10,247	48.03%	9,470	3.94%	777
Jackson	51.95%	3,787	48.05%	3,503	3.90%	284
Orange	51.90%	4,743	48.10%	4,396	3.80%	347
Sampson	51.84%	7,197	48.16%	6,685	3.69%	512
Yancey	51.35%	2,964	48.65%	2,808	2.70%	156
Durham	51.13%	13,835	48.87%	13,226	2.25%	609
Carteret	50.46%	3,875	49.54%	3,804	0.92%	71
Brunswick	49.98%	3,297	50.02%	3,299	-0.03%	-2
Rockingham	49.73%	8,896	50.27%	8,991	-0.53%	-95
Alleghany	49.57%	1,670	50.43%	1,699	-0.86%	-29
Montgomery	47.90%	3,088	52.10%	3,359	-4.20%	-271
Alamance	47.64%	11,029	52.36%	12,123	-4.73%	-1,094
Stokes	47.63%	3,948	52.37%	4,341	-4.74%	-393
Moore	47.45%	4,729	52.55%	5,238	-5.11%	-509
Polk	47.23%	2,527	52.77%	2,823	-5.53%	-296
Clay	47.16%	1,287	52.84%	1,442	-5.68%	-155
Macon	47.02%	3,025	52.98%	3,408	-5.95%	-383
Swain	46.96%	1,794	53.04%	2,026	-6.07%	-232
Transylvania	46.82%	3,435	53.18%	3,901	-6.35%	-466
Lincoln	46.80%	5,838	53.20%	6,637	-6.40%	-799
Rutherford	46.78%	7,208	53.22%	8,200	-6.44%	-992
Ashe	46.46%	3,982	53.54%	4,588	-7.07%	-606
Madison	46.42%	3,693	53.58%	4,263	-7.16%	-570
Gaston	46.32%	15,671	53.68%	18,159	-7.35%	-2,488
Graham	45.75%	1,486	54.25%	1,762	-8.50%	-276
Buncombe	45.67%	19,044	54.33%	22,655	-8.66%	-3,611
Dare	44.94%	839	55.06%	1,028	-10.12%	-189
McDowell	44.54%	4,392	55.46%	5,468	-10.91%	-1,076
Surry	43.82%	7,020	56.18%	9,001	-12.37%	-1,981
Cherokee	42.60%	2,843	57.40%	3,830	-14.79%	-987
Alexander	41.84%	2,710	58.16%	3,767	-16.32%	-1,057
Watauga	41.01%	3,223	58.99%	4,636	-17.98%	-1,413
Burke	40.35%	7,999	59.65%	11,823	-19.29%	-3,824
Guilford	40.13%	21,948	59.87%	32,751	-19.75%	-10,803
Iredell	39.57%	7,286	60.43%	11,125	-20.85%	-3,839
Randolph	38.95%	8,404	61.05%	13,174	-22.11%	-4,770
Caldwell	38.78%	6,861	61.22%	10,833	-22.45%	-3,972
Stanly	38.55%	6,693	61.45%	10,667	-22.89%	-3,974
Davidson	38.17%	9,987	61.83%	16,178	-23.66%	-6,191
Mecklenburg	37.98%	27,227	62.02%	44,469	-24.05%	-17,242
Catawba	37.25%	11,424	62.75%	19,246	-25.50%	-7,822
Rowan	35.72%	9,761	64.28%	17,562	-28.55%	-7,801
Forsyth	35.01%	15,819	64.99%	29,368	-29.98%	-13,549
Wilkes	33.71%	5,870	66.29%	11,544	-32.58%	-5,674
Cabarrus	33.15%	7,173	66.85%	14,462	-33.69%	-7,289
Davie	31.45%	2,110	68.55%	4,599	-37.10%	-2,489
Henderson	30.22%	4,003	69.78%	9,243	-39.56%	-5,240
Yadkin	30.15%	2,361	69.85%	5,469	-39.69%	-3,108
Mitchell	20.03%	1,069	79.97%	4,269	-59.95%	-3,200
Avery	19.47%	969	80.53%	4,009	-61.07%	-3,040

Analysis

North Carolina was carried by Democratic nominee Adlai Stevenson of Illinois, with 50.66 percent of the popular vote, over incumbent Republican President Dwight 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 and Brunswick Counties. Critical help for Stevenson also came from gaining a much larger proportion of the growing urban black electorate than elsewhere in the Confederacy. ^{[lower-alpha 3]}

Alleghany County voted Republican for the first time ever, whilst Dare County voted Republican for the first time since 1896, and McDowell County for the first time since 1908. ^[25] This was the last time until 1992 that North Carolina would vote for the losing candidate in a presidential election, and remains the last time that a Republican has won the presidency without carrying the state.

Notes

1. Although he was born in Texas and grew up in Kansas before his military career, at the time of the 1952 election Eisenhower was president of Columbia University and was, officially, a resident of New York. During his first term as president, he moved his private residence to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and officially changed his residency to Pennsylvania.
2. These were Charles B. Deane and Richard Thurmond Chatham. ^[12]
3. It is estimated that Eisenhower gained under forty percent of black voters in major North Carolina cities, whereas he gained over seventy percent in Atlanta and Richmond and over half in Memphis. ^[24]

References

1. "United States Presidential election of 1956 — Encyclopædia Britannica" . Retrieved June 10, 2017.
2. "The Presidents". David Leip. Retrieved September 27, 2017. Eisenhower's home state for the 1956 Election was Pennsylvania
3. "1956 Election for the Forty-Fourth Term (1961-65)" . Retrieved June 10, 2017.
4. Phillips, Kevin P. The Emerging Republican Majority. pp. 210, 242. ISBN   978-0-691-16324-6.
5. Key, Valdimer Orlando (1949). Southern Politics in State and Nation. Alfred A. Knopf. p. 502.
6. Klarman, Michael J. (2001). "The White Primary Rulings: A Case Study in the Consequences of Supreme Court Decision-Making". Florida State University Law Review. 29: 55–107.
7. Guthrie, Paul Daniel (August 1955). The Dixiecrat Movement of 1948 (Thesis). Bowling Green State University. p. 183. Docket 144207.
8. Grayson, A.G. (December 1975). "North Carolina and Harry Truman, 1944-1948". Journal of American Studies. 9 (3): 283–300.
9. Strong, Donald S. (August 1955). "The Presidential Election in the South, 1952". The Journal of Politics. 17 (3): 343–389.
10. Christensen, Rob (2008). The paradox of Tar Heel politics: the personalities, elections, and events that shaped modern North Carolina. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press. pp. 264–265. ISBN   9780807831892.
11. Christensen. The paradox of Tar Heel politics, pp. 155-156
12. Badger, Tony (1999). "Southerners Who Refused To Sign the Southern Manifesto". The Historical Journal. Cambridge University Press. 42 (2): 528–532.
13. Telgen, Diane (2005). Brown v. Board of Education. Detroit, Michigan: Omnigraphics. p. 78. ISBN   9780780807754.
14. Lawrence, David (September 29, 1956). "Dissension in South Won't Affect Adlai". The Daily Press . Newport News, Virginia. p. 4.
15. "How Do Former Citizens for Eisenhower Stand?". The Daily Times-News . Burlington, North Carolina. October 26, 1956. p. 4.
16. Robinson, Charles K.; Ramsey, Claude S., eds. (October 28, 1956). "Polls Favor Ike and Democrats". Asheville Citizen-Times. Asheville, North Carolina: Robert Bunelle. p. 28.
17. "Final Babson Poll Shows Eisenhower Winning Easily". Fort Worth Star-Telegram . CTS. November 2, 1956. p. 22.
18. Trohan, Walter (November 3, 1956). "Hour of Decision Near: Eisenhower Lead Increasing Daily". Corpus Christi Times . Chicago Tribune Service. p. 4.
19. "What the Polls Show — Eisenhower Victory Is Indicated across Nation". The Philadelphia Inquirer . November 4, 1956. pp. B 1, B 3.
20. Lawrence, W.H. (November 4, 1956). ""Times Team" Counts Up 20-State GOP Margin". The Salt Lake Tribune . p. A 11.
21. "NC US President Race, November 06, 1956". Our Campaigns.
22. "1956 Presidential General Election Results — North Carolina" . Retrieved June 10, 2017.
23. "The American Presidency Project — Election of 1956" . Retrieved June 10, 2017.
24. Phillips. The Emerging Republican Majority, p. 299
25. Menendez, Albert J. (2005). The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. pp. 265–268. ISBN   0786422173.