United States Senate election in South Carolina, 1956

The 1956 South Carolina United States Senate election was held on November 6, 1956 to select the U.S. Senator from the state of South Carolina simultaneously with the special senate election. Incumbent Democratic Senator Olin D. Johnston handily defeated Republican mayor of Clemson Leon P. Crawford.

Democratic Primary

Olin D. Johnston, the incumbent Senator, faced no opposition from South Carolina Democrats and avoided a primary election.

Republican Primary

Leon P. Crawford, the mayor of the town of Clemson in the Upstate, faced no opposition from South Carolina Republicans and avoided a primary election.

General election campaign

Crawford campaigned as a defender of states' rights and denounced Johnston for backing the New Deal and the Fair Deal. The state Republican Party believed that Crawford could have a chance in the election if he galvanized the 128,000 registered black voters, although they were weary of being labeled as the black party. In the end, Johnston remained highly popular with the voters who were still leery of the Republican party and he easily defeated Crawford in the general election.

Election results

Election box candidate with party link
party = Democratic Party (United States)
candidate = Olin D. Johnston
votes = 230,150
percentage = 82.2
change = -17.7 Election box candidate with party link
party = Republican Party (United States)
candidate = Leon P. Crawford
votes = 49,695
percentage = 17.8
change = +17.8 Election box candidate
party = "No party"
candidate = Write-Ins
votes = 124
percentage = 0.0
change = -0.1Election box majority
votes = 180,455
percentage = 64.4
change = -35.4Election box turnout
votes = 279,969
percentage = 36.8
change =
colspan=5 |Democratic hold
-

frame|300px|none|1956 South Carolina U.S. Senate election map, by percentile by county.

ee also

*List of United States Senators from South Carolina
*United States Senate elections, 1956
*United States Senate special election in South Carolina, 1956

References

*"Supplemental Report of the Secretary of State to the General Assembly of South Carolina." "Reports and Resolutions of South Carolina to the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina". Volume I. Columbia, SC: 1957, pp. 8-9.
*cite book | last = Kalk | first = Bruce H. | title = The Origins of the Southern Strategy: Two-Party Competition in South | year = 2001 | publisher = Lexington Books | pages = pp. 30, 33