1956 United States Senate election in Missouri

1956 United States Senate election in Missouri
← 1950 1960 (special) →
	County results; Hennings: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%; Douglas: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%
U.S. senator before election; Thomas C. Hennings Jr.; Democratic	Elected U.S. senator ; Thomas C. Hennings Jr.; Democratic

The 1956 United States Senate election in Missouri took place on November 6, 1956 in Missouri. The incumbent Democratic Senator, Thomas C. Hennings Jr., was re-elected. He defeated Republican nominee Herbert Douglas, winning 56.4% of the vote. Hennings outperformed Democratic presidential nominee Adlai Stevenson II, who won 50.1% in the presidential election in Missouri.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Thomas C. Hennings Jr., incumbent Senator since 1951

Withdrew

Tom J. Gavin, Kansas City councilman (name remained on ballot)^[1]

Results

Democratic primary August 7, 1956^[2]^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Thomas C. Hennings Jr. (incumbent)	389,986	95.91
	Democratic	Tom J. Gavin	16,624	4.09
Total votes			406,610	100

Republican primary

Candidates

Herbert Douglas, attorney and candidate for Missouri Attorney General in 1948^[1]
Albert E. Schoenbeck, attorney^[1]
William McKinley Thomas, furniture warehouse employee^[1]
William E. Van Taay, director of economics and sociology at Fontbonne University^[4]

Results

Republican primary August 7, 1956^[2]^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Herbert Douglas	83,458	40.77
	Republican	Albert E. Schoenbeck	78,747	38.47
	Republican	William McKinley Thomas	28,924	14.13
	Republican	William E. Van Taay	13,556	6.62
Total votes			204,685	100

General election

1956 United States Senate election in Missouri^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Thomas C. Hennings Jr. (incumbent)	1,015,936	56.41	+2.81
	Republican	Herbert Douglas	785,048	43.59	−2.75
Majority			230,888	12.82
Turnout			1,800,984
	Democratic hold

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "4 in G.O.P. Senatorial Contest, Winner to Meet Hennings Who Is Unopposed for Renomination". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. August 5, 1956. p. 1E. Retrieved September 30, 2022 – via State Historical Society of Missouri.
^ ^a ^b Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1957 - 1958. Missouri Secretary of State's Office. 1958. p. 1103. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
^ ^a ^b "HANKINS, ENGLAND AND TATUM WIN". Wheaton Journal. Wheaton, Missouri. August 9, 1956. p. 1. Retrieved September 27, 2022 – via State Historical Society of Missouri.
^ "U.S. SENATORIAL CANDIDATES AND THEIR RECORD". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. August 5, 1956. p. 4E. Retrieved September 30, 2022 – via State Historical Society of Missouri.
^ Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives (September 15, 1958). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 6, 1956" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 24.

[Gavin-1] "4 in G.O.P. Senatorial Contest, Winner to Meet Hennings Who Is Unopposed for Renomination". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. August 5, 1956. p. 1E. Retrieved September 30, 2022 – via State Historical Society of Missouri.

[primaryvote-2] Official Manual of the State of Missouri 1957 - 1958. Missouri Secretary of State's Office. 1958. p. 1103. Retrieved September 30, 2022.

[primarycandidates-3] "HANKINS, ENGLAND AND TATUM WIN". Wheaton Journal. Wheaton, Missouri. August 9, 1956. p. 1. Retrieved September 27, 2022 – via State Historical Society of Missouri.

[4] "U.S. SENATORIAL CANDIDATES AND THEIR RECORD". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. August 5, 1956. p. 4E. Retrieved September 30, 2022 – via State Historical Society of Missouri.

[5] Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives (September 15, 1958). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 6, 1956" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 24.

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