1956 North Carolina gubernatorial election

The 1956 North Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1956. Incumbent Democrat Luther H. Hodges defeated Republican nominee Kyle Hayes with 66.95% of the vote.

1956 North Carolina gubernatorial election
November 6, 1956
 
Nominee Luther H. Hodges Kyle Hayes
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 760,480 375,379
Percentage 66.95% 33.05%
Governor before election

Luther H. Hodges
Democratic

 Elected Governor

Luther H. Hodges
Democratic

Elections in North Carolina

This election was unusual for North Carolina at the time, in that a sitting Governor ran for another term. The Constitution of North Carolina at the time had a one-term limit for governors, but Hodges, as lieutenant governor, had succeeded William B. Umstead after the latter died in office, and was running for a full four-year term on his own. In 1977, the state's voters approved an amendment to the state constitution permitting the governor to serve two consecutive four-year terms.

Primary elections

Primary elections were held on May 26, 1956.[1]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results
Democratic primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Luther H. Hodges 401,082 85.95
Democratic Thomas B. Sawyer 29,248 6.27
Democratic Harry P. Stokely 24,416 5.23
Democratic C.E. Earle Jr. 11,908 2.55
Total votes 466,654 100.00

General election

Candidates
  • Luther H. Hodges, Democratic
  • Kyle Hayes, Republican

Results
1956 North Carolina gubernatorial election[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Democratic Luther H. Hodges 760,480 66.95%
Republican Kyle Hayes 375,379 33.05%
Majority 385,101
Turnout 1,135,859
Democratic hold Swing

References
  1. "North Carolina Manual". Books.google.com. Retrieved 2019-06-16.
  2. "America Votes 32: 2015-2016, Election Returns by State - Rhodes Cook". Books.google.com. Retrieved 2019-06-16.
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