# 1956 Republican Party presidential primaries

From March 11 to June 5, 1956, voters of the Republican Party chose its nominee for president in the 1956 United States presidential election. Incumbent President Dwight D. Eisenhower was again selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the 1956 Republican National Convention held from August 20 to August 23, 1956, in San Francisco, California.
Eisenhower sought re-nomination and faced no formidable opposition. He swept the primaries without difficulty. Senator William F. Knowland of California was on the ballot for a number of them. Knowland had announced he would run if Ike would not, and the president announced so late that there was no time for Knowland to withdraw.

## Candidates
### Nominee

| Candidate | Candidate | Candidate | Most recent position | Home state | Campaign | Popular vote | Contests won | Running mate |
| Dwight D. Eisenhower | | | President of the United States (1953–1961) | Pennsylvania | (Campaign) Secured nomination: August 20, 1956 | 5,008,132 (85.9%) | 16 | Richard Nixon |

### Withdrew

| Candidate | Candidate | Candidate | Most recent position | Home state | Popular vote | Contests won |
| John W. Bricker | | | U.S. Senator from Ohio (1947–53) | Ohio | 478,453 (8.21%) | 5 |
| William F. Knowland | | | U.S. Senator from California (1945–57) | California | [data missing] | [data missing] |

### Favorite sons

| Candidate | Candidate | Most recent position | Home state |
| S. C. Arnold | | Montana Secretary of State (1955–1957) | Montana |
| Joe Foss | | Governor of South Dakota (1955-1959) | South Dakota |

## Polling
### National polling

| Poll source | Publication | John Bricker | Dwight Eisenhower | William Knowland | Richard Nixon |
| Gallup | Aug. 1954 | — | 79% | – | — |
| Gallup | Dec. 1954 | — | 74% | – | — |
| Gallup | Apr. 1955 | 2% | 62% | 2% | 4% |
| Gallup | Aug. 1955 | — | 85% | 2% | 2% |
| Gallup | Jan. 1956 | – | 82% | — | — |

## Results

Statewide contest won by candidates
| | | Dwight Eisenhower | John W. Bricker | William F. Knowland | Joe Foss | S.C. Arnold | Unpledged |
| March 13 | New Hampshire | 99% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| March 20 | Minnesota | 98% | 0% | 2% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| April 3 | Wisconsin | 96% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| April 10 | Illinois | 95% | 0% | 4% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| April 17 | New Jersey | 100% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| April 24 | Alaska | 94% | 0% | 6% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| April 24 | Massachusetts | 95% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| April 24 | Pennsylvania | 96% | 0% | 4% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| May 1 | Washington, D.C. | 100% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| May 7 | Maryland | 96% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 4% |
| May 8 | Indiana | 96% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| May 8 | Ohio | 0% | 100% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| May 8 | West Virginia | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 100% |
| May 15 | Nebraska | 100% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| May 18 | Oregon | 100% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| May 29 | Florida | 92% | 0% | 8% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| June 6 | California | 100% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| June 5 | Montana | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 86% | 0% |
| June 5 | South Dakota | 0% | 0% | 0% | 100% | 0% | 0% |
    a. $^{stand-incandidateforEisenhower.}$

### Total popular vote results

Primaries total popular vote results
* Dwight Eisenhower - 5,008,132 (85.93%)
* John W. Bricker - 478,453 (8.21%)
* Unpledged - 115,014 (1.97%)
* William F. Knowland - 84,446 (1.45%)
* Joe Foss - 59,374 (1.02%)
* S.C. Arnold - 32,732 (0.56%)
* Others - 50,283 (0.86%)