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U.S. Senate election, 1956
The U.S. Senate election, 1956 was an election for the United States Senate which
coincided with Dwight D. Eisenhower re-election. The party balance of the chamber remained unchanged as Republican and Democrat gains cancelled each other.
Democrats defeated incumbents Herman Welker (R-ID), George H. Bender (R-OH), and James H. Duff (R-PA), as well as taking the open seat in Colorado. Republicans defeated incumbent Earle C. Clements (D-KY) as well as taking open seats in Kentucky, New York, and West Virginia.
During the term, Republican John D. Hoblitzell, Jr. was appointed to the seat of deceased Senator Mathew M. Neely (D-WV), and Democrat William Proxmire was appointed to the seat of deceased Senator Joseph R. McCarthy (R-WI). These gains left party balance unchanged.
Senate contests in 1956
| State | Incumbent | Party | Status | Opposing Candidates |
| Alabama | Lister Hill | Democrat | Re-elected, unopposed | |
| Arizona | Carl Hayden | Democrat | Re-elected, 61.4 - 38.6 | Ross F. Jones (Republican) |
| Arkansas | J. William Fulbright | Democrat | Re-elected, 83.0 - 17.0 | Ben C. Henley (Republican) |
| California | Thomas H. Kuchel | Republican | Re-elected, 54.0 - 45.6 | Richard Richards (Democrat) |
| Colorado | Eugene D. Millikin | Republican | Retired: Democrat victory, 50.2 - 49.8 | John A. Carroll (Democrat) Dan Thornton (Republican) |
| Connecticut | Prescott S. Bush | Republican | Re-elected, 54.8 - 43.1 | Thomas J. Dodd (Democrat) |
| Florida | George A. Smathers | Democrat | Re-elected, unopposed | |
| Georgia | Walter F. George | Democrat | Retired: Democrat victory, unopposed | Herman E. Talmadge (Democrat) |
| Idaho | Herman Welker | Republican | Defeated, 56.2 - 38.7 | Frank Church (Democrat) |
| Illinois | Everett M. Dirksen | Republican | Re-elected, 54.1 - 45.7 | Richard Stengel (Democrat) |
| Indiana | Homer E. Capehart | Republican | Re-elected, 55.2 - 44.4 | Claude R. Wickard (Democrat) |
| Iowa | Bourke B. Hickenlooper | Republican | Re-elected, 53.9 - 46.1 | R. M. Evans (Democrat) |
| Kansas | Frank Carlson | Republican | Re-elected, 57.9 - 40.5 | George Hart (Democrat) |
| Kentucky1 | Robert Humphreys | Democrat | Retired: Republican victory, 53.2 - 46.8 | John S. Cooper (Republican) Lawrence W. Wetherby (Democrat) |
| Kentucky | Earle C. Clements | Democrat | Defeated, 50.4 - 49.7 | Thruston B. Morton (Republican) |
| Louisiana | Russell B. Long | Democrat | Re-elected, unopposed | |
| Maryland | John M. Butler | Republican | Re-elected, 53.0 - 47.0 | George P. Mahoney (Democrat) |
| Missouri | Thomas C. Hennings, Jr. | Democrat | Re-elected, 56.4 - 43.6 | Herbert Douglas (Republican) |
| Nevada | Alan Bible | Democrat | Re-elected, 52.6 - 47.4 | Cliff Young (Republican) |
| New Hampshire | Norris Cotton | Republican | Re-elected, 64.1 - 35.9 | Laurence M. Pickett (Democrat) |
| New York | Herbert H. Lehman | Democrat | Retired: Republican victory, 53.3 - 46.7 | Jacob K. Javits (Republican) Robert F. Wagner, Jr. (Democrat) |
| North Carolina | Sam J. Ervin, Jr. | Democrat | Re-elected, 66.6 - 33.4 | Joel A. Johnson (Republican) |
| North Dakota | Milton R. Young | Republican | Re-elected, 63.6 - 36.0 | Quentin N. Burdick (Democrat) |
| Ohio | George H. Bender | Republican | Defeated, 52.9 - 47.1 | Frank J. Lausche (Democrat) |
| Oklahoma | A. S. Mike Monroney | Democrat | Re-elected, 55.4 - 44.7 | Douglas McKeever (Republican) |
| Oregon | Wayne Morse | Republican | Re-elected, 54.2 - 45.8 | Douglas McKay (Republican) |
| Pennsylvania | James H. Duff | Republican | Defeated, 50.1 - 49.7 | Joseph S. Clark (Democrat) |
| South Carolina2 | Thomas A. Wofford | Democrat | Retired: Democrat victory, unopposed | Strom Thurmond (Democrat) |
| South Carolina | Olin B. Johnston | Democrat | Re-elected, unopposed | |
| South Dakota | Francis Case | Republican | Re-elected, 50.8 - 49.2 | Kenneth Holum (Democrat) |
| Utah | Wallace F. Bennett | Republican | Re-elected, 54.0 - 46.0 | Alonzo F. Hopkin (Democrat) |
| Vermont | George D. Aiken | Republican | Re-elected, 66.4 - 33.6 | Bernard G. O'Shea (Democrat) |
| Washington | Warren G. Magnuson | Democrat | Re-elected, 61.1 - 38.9 | Arthur B. Langlie (Republican) |
| West Virginia3 | William R. Laird, III | Democrat | Retired: Republican victory, 53.7 - 46.3 | Chapman Revercomb (Republican) William C. Marland (Democrat) |
| Wisconsin | Alexander Wiley | Republican | Re-elected, 58.6 - 41.2 | Henry W. Maier (Democrat) |
1 special election held due to death of Alben W. Barkley (D-KY)
2 special election held due to resignation of Strom Thurmond (D-SC). (Thurmond had been elected in a special election in 1954 and had promised to resign in order to face a contested primary in 1956)
3 special election held due to death of Harley M. Kilgore (D-WV)
See also
- U.S. Senate election, 1954
- U.S. Senate election, 1958
- U.S. presidential election, 1956
- U.S. House election, 1956
Senate composition before and after elections
| 84th Congress Senate Composition | 85th Congress Senate Composition | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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