1956 United States Senate election in South Dakota

The 1956 United States Senate election in South Dakota took place on November 6, 1956. Incumbent Republican Senator Francis H. Case ran for re-election to a second term. In the general election, Case was opposed by former State Representative Kenneth Holum, who was the 1954 Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate. Owing in part to anger among the state's farmers,^[1] the race between Case and Holum was quite close,^[2] with Holum leading Case on election night and only falling behind the next day. Case ended up narrowly winning re-election,^[3] defeating Holum by just 4,620 votes.

1956 United States Senate election in South Dakota

← 1950 November 6, 1956 1962 →

Nominee Francis Case Kenneth Holum Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 147,621 143,001 Percentage 50.79% 49.21%

County results Case:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Holum:      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election Francis H. Case Republican Elected U.S. Senator Francis H. Case Republican

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Kenneth Holum, former State Representative, 1954 Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate^[4]
• Merton B. Time, Mitchell municipal judge, attorney^[5]

Results

Democratic primary^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kenneth Holum	23,464	60.85%
	Democratic	Merton B. Tice	15,099	39.15%
Total votes			38,563	100.00%

Republican primary

Incumbent U.S. Senator Francis H. Case was the only Republican candidate to file for the U.S. Senate, removing the race from the primary ballot.^[7]

General election

Results

1956 United States Senate election in South Dakota^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Francis H. Case (inc.)	147,621	50.79%	−13.12%
	Democratic	Kenneth Holum	143,001	49.21%	+13.12%
Majority			4,620	1.59%	−26.25%
Turnout			290,622
	Republican hold