1956 United States Senate elections

1956 United States Senate elections
← 1954 November 6, 1956 1958 →
35 of the 96 seats in the United States Senate
49 seats needed for a majority
  Majority party Minority party
 
Leader Lyndon Johnson William Knowland
Party Democratic Republican
Leader since January 3, 1953 August 4, 1953
Leader's seat Texas California
Seats before 49 47
Seats after 49 47
Seat change Steady Steady
Popular vote 23,291,351[1][a] 22,219,450[1]
Percentage 50.7% 48.4%
Seats up 18 17
Races won 18 17
1956 United States Senate special election in West Virginia1956 United States Senate special election in Kentucky1956 United States Senate special election in South Carolina1956 United States Senate election in Alabama1956 United States Senate election in Arizona1956 United States Senate election in Arkansas1956 United States Senate election in California1956 United States Senate election in Colorado1956 United States Senate election in Connecticut1956 United States Senate election in Florida1956 United States Senate election in Georgia1956 United States Senate election in Idaho1956 United States Senate election in Illinois1956 United States Senate election in Indiana1956 United States Senate election in Iowa1956 United States Senate election in Kansas1956 United States Senate election in Kentucky1956 United States Senate election in Louisiana1956 United States Senate election in Maryland1956 United States Senate election in Missouri1956 United States Senate election in Nevada1956 United States Senate election in New Hampshire1956 United States Senate election in New York1956 United States Senate election in North Carolina1956 United States Senate election in North Dakota1956 United States Senate election in Ohio1956 United States Senate election in Oklahoma1956 United States Senate election in Oregon1956 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania1956 United States Senate election in South Carolina1956 United States Senate election in South Dakota1956 United States Senate election in Utah1956 United States Senate election in Vermont1956 United States Senate election in Washington1956 United States Senate election in Wisconsin
Results of the elections:
     Democratic gain      Democratic hold
     Republican gain      Republican hold
     No election
Rectangular inset (Ky. & S. C.): both seats up for election
Majority Leader before election

Lyndon Johnson
Democratic

Elected Majority Leader

Lyndon Johnson
Democratic

The 1956 United States Senate elections were elections for the United States Senate that coincided with the re-election of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The 32 seats of Class 3 were contested in regular elections, and three special elections were held to fill vacancies. Although Democrats gained two seats in regular elections, the Republicans gained two seats in special elections, leaving the party balance of the chamber unchanged.

Democrats defeated incumbents Herman Welker (R-Idaho), George H. Bender (R-Ohio), and James H. Duff (R-Pennsylvania), as well as winning a Republican-held seat in Colorado. Republicans defeated incumbent Earle C. Clements (D-Kentucky) as well as winning Democratic-held seats in Kentucky, New York, and West Virginia. Thus, this election caused Kentucky's Senate delegation to flip from two Democrats to two Republicans.

During the next Congress, Republican John D. Hoblitzell Jr. was appointed to the seat of deceased Senator Matthew M. Neely (D-WV), while Democrat William Proxmire won a special election for the seat of deceased Senator Joseph McCarthy (R-Wisconsin). Also, Democrat Ralph Yarborough won a special election for the seat of Price Daniel (D-Texas), who had resigned from the Senate after being elected Governor of Texas. The net result was to leave the party balance unchanged. Republicans would not win a Senate in West Virginia again until 2014.

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