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The 1956 United States presidential election in Maine took place on November 6, 1956, as part of the 1956 United States presidential election which was held throughout all contemporary 48 states. Voters chose five representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Maine overwhelmingly voted for the Republican nominee, incumbent President Dwight D. Eisenhower of Pennsylvania, over the Democratic nominee, former Governor Adlai Stevenson of Illinois. Eisenhower ran with incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon of California, while Stevenson's running mate was Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee.

Eisenhower won Maine by a landslide margin of 41.74%. Although Maine was almost completely dominated by the Republican Party between 1856 and 1960 (apart from 1912 where the Republican vote was split), Eisenhower's performance is nonetheless the second-best by any presidential candidate in Maine, behind only Yankee Calvin Coolidge in 1924, who won a 1.16% higher share of the popular vote.[2] He carried every county in Maine, and won thirteen of sixteen with over seventy percent of the vote. This election would prove the last of a century of GOP dominance in the Yankee Northeast: over the following two elections, the Republican share would decline 39% in Maine as the party moved its target support base from the declining Northeast to the "Sun Belt" of the lower-tax South and Desert Southwest.[3]

With 70.87% of the popular vote, Maine would prove to be Eisenhower's second strongest state after nearby Vermont.[4]

Results

1956 United States presidential election in Maine[5]
Party Candidate Running mate Popular vote Electoral vote
Count % Count %
Republican Dwight David Eisenhower of Pennsylvania Richard Nixon of California 249,238 70.87% 5 100.00%
Democratic Adlai Stevenson II of Illinois Estes Kefauver of Tennessee 102,468 29.13% 0 0.00%
Total 351,706 100.00% 5 100.00%

Results by county

County Dwight David Eisenhower

Republican

Adlai Stevenson II

Democratic

Total votes cast[6]
# % # %
Androscoggin 20,385 56.27% 15,842 43.73% 36,227
Aroostook 16,001 72.44% 6,089 27.56% 22,090
Cumberland 49,696 71.88% 19,438 28.12% 69,134
Franklin 6,307 78.97% 1,680 21.03% 7,987
Hancock 11,316 86.91% 1,704 13.09% 13,020
Kennebec 23,028 66.73% 11,483 33.27% 34,511
Knox 8,866 81.32% 2,037 18.68% 10,903
Lincoln 7,191 86.07% 1,164 13.93% 8,355
Oxford 12,607 73.04% 4,653 26.96% 17,260
Penobscot 27,806 76.44% 8,568 23.56% 36,374
Piscataquis 5,336 77.59% 1,541 22.41% 6,877
Sagadahoc 6,201 72.94% 2,301 27.06% 8,502
Somerset 10,471 71.77% 4,119 28.23% 14,590
Waldo 6,590 82.64% 1,384 17.36% 7,974
Washington 8,181 76.20% 2,555 23.80% 10,736
York 29,256 62.03% 17,910 37.97% 47,166
Totals 249,238 70.87% 102,468 29.13% 351,706

See also

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.

References

  1. ^ "The Presidents". David Leip. Retrieved September 27, 2017. Eisenhower's home state for the 1956 Election was Pennsylvania
  2. ^ "Presidential General Election Results Comparison – Maine".
  3. ^ Phillips, Kevin P.; The Emerging Republican Majority; pp. 17, 507 ISBN 1400852293
  4. ^ "1956 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  5. ^ "1956 Presidential General Election Results – Maine".
  6. ^ Scammon, Richard M. (compiler); America at the Polls: A Handbook of Presidential Election Statistics 1920-1964; p. 204 ISBN 0405077114