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direcorrector asked why the Democratic party would run the same candidate (Adlai Stevenson) against Dwight Eisenhower in 1956 when he lost so badly in 1952? Good question.President Eisenhower had maintained much of his popularity throughout his first term, but he had health conditions that became a quiet issue. Meanwhile, Stevenson remained popular with a core of liberal Democrats but held no political office and had no real base. Despite being popular with liberals, he largely ignored the civil rights issue, likely for fear of eroding his support among southern Democrats. Eisenhower had ended the Korean War and the nation was prosperous, so a landslide for Eisenhower always seemed to be in the cards.
Stevenson fought a tight primary battle with populist Tennessee Senator Estes Kefauver for the 1956 nomination. Kefauver won the New Hampshire primary unopposed and he upset Stevenson in the Minnesota primary. Knowing that he was trailing his opponent, Stevenson agreed to debate Kefauver in Florida. Stevenson and Kefauver held the first televised presidential debate on May 21, 1956 before the Florida primary. Stevenson carried Florida by a 52-48% margin. By the time the California primary took place in June, Kefauver's campaign had run low on funds and could not compete for publicity and advertising with the well-funded Stevenson. Stevenson won the California primary by a 63-37% margin, and Kefauver withdrew from the race.
At the 1956 Democratic National Convention, held in Chicago, New York Governor W. Averell Harriman challenged Stevenson for the nomination. He had the support of former President Harry S. Truman. But Stevenson's delegate lead was much too large for Harriman to catch up to, and Stevenson won the nomination on the first ballot. Stevenson received 905.5 votes, with Harriman coming in second with 210.
At the convention, Stevenson tried to create excitement for the ticket, by announcing that the convention's delegates would choose his running mate. Candidates had only one hectic day to campaign among the delegates before the voting began. The two leading contenders were Senator Kefauver, who retained the support of his primary delegates, and Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts, who was relatively unknown at that point. Kennedy surprised everyone by surging into the lead on the second ballot and at one point he was only 15 votes shy of winning. But a number of states then left their "favorite son" candidates and switched to Kefauver, giving him the victory. Kennedy gave a gracious concession speech, giving him favorable national publicity.
On the GOP side there was some speculation that Eisenhower would not run for a second term, primarily due to concerns about his health. In 1955 Eisenhower had suffered a serious heart attack, and in early 1956 he underwent surgery for ileitis. However, he quickly recovered after both, and after being cleared by his doctors he decided to run for a second term. He was renominated with no opposition at the 1956 Republican National Convention held in San Francisco.
There was some question about whether Vice President Richard Nixon would once again be Eisenhower's running mate. Eisenhower privately offered Nixon another position in his cabinet, such as Secretary of Defense. But in the spring of 1956 Eisenhower publicly announced that Nixon would again be his running mate.
Television played a major part in the campaign. It allowed Eisenhower to reach people across the country without the strain of repeated coast-to-coast travel. Stevenson promised increases in government spending for social programs and treaties with the Soviet Union to lower military spending and end nuclear testing on both sides. He also proposed to end the military draft and switch to an "all-volunteer" military. Eisenhower publicly opposed these ideas, even though in private he was working on a proposal to ban atmospheric nuclear testing.
Eisenhower still had the popularity he had earned during World War II, and he maintained a comfortable lead in the polls throughout the campaign. Eisenhower was also helped by his handling of two developing foreign-policy crises that occurred in the weeks before the election. In the Soviet-occupied People's Republic of Hungary, many citizens had risen in revolt against Soviet domination. In Egypt, a combined force of Israeli, British, and French troops invaded to topple Gamal Abdel Nasser and seize the recently-nationalized Suez Canal. The Hungarian revolt was brutally crushed within a few days by re-deployed Soviet troops. Eisenhower was critical of both actions, but was able only to pressure the western forces to withdraw from Egypt.
The Eisenhower administration had also supported the Brown v. Board of Education ruling in 1954 in which the U.S. Supreme Court ended legal segregation in public schools. This earned Eisenhower won the support of nearly 40% of African-American voters.
On election day Eisenhower won 57.4% of the popular vote (compared to 42% for Stevenson). He won 41 of the 48 states. Stevenson won only six Southern states and the border state of Missouri. Eisenhower carried Louisiana, making him the first Republican presidential candidate to carry the state since Reconstruction in 1876. The final score in the electoral college was 457 for Eisenhower to 73 for Stevenson. He had increased his margins in every category from the 1952 election.