South Carolina — 1956 presidential election
Recent presidential results
Akashicstate1956 presidential electionSouth Carolina · PresidentStevensonD+20.2
How it voted
Share of the 1956 vote
| Adlai Stevenson ✓Democratic | 45.4% | 136,372 |
|---|---|---|
| OtherAll other candidates | 29.4% | 88,511 |
| Dwight D. EisenhowerRepublican | 25.2% | 75,700 |
1956presidential margin
D+60R+60
46 counties, each filled by 1956 D-vs-R margin. Hover any county for its result.
Gold marks a county an independent or third-party candidate carried.
South Carolina cast 8 electoral votes this cycle.
County-level results (46 counties) — table
| County | Winner | Margin |
|---|---|---|
| Abbeville County, SC | Democratic | D+73.9 |
| Aiken County, SC | Republican | R+15.6 |
| Allendale County, SC | Other / independent | D+9.0 |
| Anderson County, SC | Democratic | D+62.0 |
| Bamberg County, SC | Other / independent | D+5.5 |
| Barnwell County, SC | Democratic | D+46.3 |
| Beaufort County, SC | Republican | R+12.3 |
| Berkeley County, SC | Other / independent | R+4.1 |
| Calhoun County, SC | Other / independent | D+16.5 |
| Charleston County, SC | Other / independent | R+13.8 |
| Cherokee County, SC | Democratic | D+56.7 |
| Chester County, SC | Democratic | D+41.4 |
| Chesterfield County, SC | Democratic | D+55.4 |
| Clarendon County, SC | Other / independent | D+16.4 |
| Colleton County, SC | Other / independent | D+20.5 |
| Darlington County, SC | Democratic | D+18.4 |
| Dillon County, SC | Democratic | D+52.5 |
| Dorchester County, SC | Other / independent | D+11.1 |
| Edgefield County, SC | Other / independent | D+0.4 |
| Fairfield County, SC | Other / independent | D+16.7 |
| Florence County, SC | Other / independent | D+16.5 |
| Georgetown County, SC | Other / independent | R+0.8 |
| Greenville County, SC | Democratic | D+3.9 |
| Greenwood County, SC | Democratic | D+48.4 |
| Hampton County, SC | Other / independent | D+10.0 |
| Horry County, SC | Democratic | D+45.8 |
| Jasper County, SC | Other / independent | R+15.2 |
| Kershaw County, SC | Other / independent | D+6.6 |
| Lancaster County, SC | Democratic | D+42.0 |
| Laurens County, SC | Democratic | D+35.3 |
| Lee County, SC | Other / independent | D+28.1 |
| Lexington County, SC | Other / independent | D+15.8 |
| Marion County, SC | Democratic | D+30.8 |
| Marlboro County, SC | Democratic | D+45.1 |
| McCormick County, SC | Democratic | D+44.1 |
| Newberry County, SC | Democratic | D+31.4 |
| Oconee County, SC | Democratic | D+54.2 |
| Orangeburg County, SC | Other / independent | D+15.1 |
| Pickens County, SC | Democratic | D+2.3 |
| Richland County, SC | Other / independent | R+2.5 |
| Saluda County, SC | Democratic | D+32.3 |
| Spartanburg County, SC | Democratic | D+38.4 |
| Sumter County, SC | Other / independent | R+6.9 |
| Union County, SC | Democratic | D+44.1 |
| Williamsburg County, SC | Other / independent | D+9.4 |
| York County, SC | Democratic | D+28.8 |
South Carolina results by county
46 counties. Third-party and independent votes are reported by the county source as one combined figure; every named candidate is listed in the complete result below.
| Led by | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abbeville County | Adlai Stevenson+2,646 | 2,98583.4% | 2577.2% | 3399.5% | 3,581 |
| Aiken County | Dwight D. Eisenhower+1,915 | 4,28034.8% | 1,82114.8% | 6,19550.4% | 12,296 |
| Allendale County | Other+295 | 38028.9% | 67551.3% | 26219.9% | 1,317 |
| Anderson County | Adlai Stevenson+9,158 | 11,34476.8% | 1,2418.4% | 2,18614.8% | 14,771 |
| Bamberg County | Other+688 | 43022.9% | 1,11859.7% | 32617.4% | 1,874 |
| Barnwell County | Adlai Stevenson+1,339 | 1,91463.6% | 57519.1% | 52017.3% | 3,009 |
| Beaufort County | Dwight D. Eisenhower+35 | 71025.6% | 1,01636.6% | 1,05137.8% | 2,777 |
| Berkeley County | Other+724 | 90224.1% | 1,77947.6% | 1,05528.2% | 3,736 |
| Calhoun County | Other+352 | 34128.9% | 69358.7% | 14612.4% | 1,180 |
| Charleston County | Other+6,071 | 4,02816.1% | 13,55854.1% | 7,48729.9% | 25,073 |
| Cherokee County | Adlai Stevenson+2,780 | 3,68775.2% | 3086.3% | 90718.5% | 4,902 |
| Chester County | Adlai Stevenson+1,944 | 2,95162.8% | 74115.8% | 1,00721.4% | 4,699 |
| Chesterfield County | Adlai Stevenson+2,764 | 3,55971.4% | 63412.7% | 79515.9% | 4,988 |
| Clarendon County | Other+1,126 | 66124.7% | 1,78766.9% | 2248.4% | 2,672 |
| Colleton County | Other+487 | 1,46336.1% | 1,95048.2% | 63515.7% | 4,048 |
| Darlington County | Adlai Stevenson+305 | 2,90840.9% | 2,60336.6% | 1,59722.5% | 7,108 |
| Dillon County | Adlai Stevenson+1,087 | 1,87963.0% | 79226.5% | 31310.5% | 2,984 |
| Dorchester County | Other+989 | 86226.8% | 1,85157.5% | 50415.7% | 3,217 |
| Edgefield County | Other+476 | 52525.7% | 1,00149.0% | 51625.3% | 2,042 |
| Fairfield County | Other+207 | 96136.3% | 1,16844.1% | 51919.6% | 2,648 |
| Florence County | Other+984 | 3,46335.5% | 4,44745.5% | 1,85519.0% | 9,765 |
| Georgetown County | Other+1,227 | 1,02023.4% | 2,28452.4% | 1,05724.2% | 4,361 |
| Greenville County | Adlai Stevenson+1,067 | 11,81943.5% | 4,62217.0% | 10,75239.5% | 27,193 |
| Greenwood County | Adlai Stevenson+3,139 | 4,38664.9% | 1,24718.5% | 1,12016.6% | 6,753 |
| Hampton County | Other+569 | 56427.4% | 1,13355.1% | 35917.5% | 2,056 |
| Horry County | Adlai Stevenson+2,591 | 4,83559.2% | 2,24427.5% | 1,09213.4% | 8,171 |
| Jasper County | Other+255 | 21016.5% | 65851.8% | 40331.7% | 1,271 |
| Kershaw County | Other+121 | 1,87534.8% | 1,99637.0% | 1,51828.2% | 5,389 |
| Lancaster County | Adlai Stevenson+2,788 | 4,39866.3% | 6299.5% | 1,61024.3% | 6,637 |
| Laurens County | Adlai Stevenson+2,181 | 3,72656.0% | 1,54523.2% | 1,37720.7% | 6,648 |
| Lee County | Other+329 | 94338.3% | 1,27251.6% | 25010.1% | 2,465 |
| Lexington County | Other+361 | 2,09436.5% | 2,45542.8% | 1,18820.7% | 5,737 |
| Marion County | Adlai Stevenson+37 | 1,39044.0% | 1,35342.8% | 41713.2% | 3,160 |
| Marlboro County | Adlai Stevenson+1,247 | 1,76963.2% | 52218.7% | 50718.1% | 2,798 |
| McCormick County | Adlai Stevenson+203 | 48555.8% | 28232.5% | 10211.7% | 869 |
| Newberry County | Adlai Stevenson+1,273 | 2,67152.1% | 1,39827.3% | 1,06120.7% | 5,130 |
| Oconee County | Adlai Stevenson+2,599 | 3,51073.2% | 3767.8% | 91119.0% | 4,797 |
| Orangeburg County | Other+432 | 2,51136.3% | 2,94342.5% | 1,46721.2% | 6,921 |
| Pickens County | Adlai Stevenson+100 | 1,84743.2% | 68416.0% | 1,74740.8% | 4,278 |
| Richland County | Other+2,802 | 6,15427.5% | 9,51642.5% | 6,71430.0% | 22,384 |
| Saluda County | Adlai Stevenson+215 | 1,08047.2% | 86537.8% | 34114.9% | 2,286 |
| Spartanburg County | Adlai Stevenson+9,815 | 16,63765.0% | 2,1248.3% | 6,82226.7% | 25,583 |
| Sumter County | Other+2,385 | 93715.5% | 3,74162.0% | 1,35622.5% | 6,034 |
| Union County | Adlai Stevenson+2,508 | 3,76066.1% | 67611.9% | 1,25222.0% | 5,688 |
| Williamsburg County | Other+2,056 | 68318.2% | 2,73973.0% | 3308.8% | 3,752 |
| York County | Adlai Stevenson+3,327 | 6,83559.3% | 1,19210.3% | 3,50830.4% | 11,535 |
Nominees: Adlai Stevenson (D) · Dwight D. Eisenhower (R)
South Carolina's presidential margins
1892–2024, the 1956 contest in context
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1892 | +58.6% |
| 1896 | +71.8% |
| 1900 | +86.0% |
| 1904 | +90.8% |
| 1908 | +87.8% |
| 1912 | +95.9% |
| 1916 | +94.3% |
| 1920 | +92.1% |
| 1924 | +94.3% |
| 1928 | +82.9% |
| 1932 | +98.0% |
| 1936 | +98.6% |
| 1940 | +91.3% |
| 1944 | +83.2% |
| 1948 | +20.4% |
| 1952 | +1.4% |
| 1956 | +20.2% |
| 1960 | +2.5% |
| 1964 | −17.8% |
| 1968 | −8.5% |
| 1972 | −42.7% |
| 1976 | +13.1% |
| 1980 | −1.5% |
| 1984 | −28.0% |
| 1988 | −23.9% |
| 1992 | −8.1% |
| 1996 | −6.0% |
| 2000 | −15.9% |
| 2004 | −17.1% |
| 2008 | −9.0% |
| 2012 | −10.5% |
| 2016 | −14.3% |
| 2020 | −11.7% |
| 2024 | −17.9% |
Source. Compiled historical county records — 1956 presidential returns · official county-level results. Real returns — nothing estimated.