1956 United States Senate special election in Kentucky

none the special Class II election to complete Alben Barkley's unexpired term the Class III regular election to the United States Senate for the open term beginning in 1957 1956 United States Senate election in Kentucky March 2026 September 2023 1956 United States Senate special election in Kentucky Kentucky presidential no 1956 United States Senate special election in Kentucky results map by county.svg 300px County resultsSherman: #e27f7f 50–60% #d75d5d 60–70% #d72f30 70–80% #c21b18 80–90%Wetherby: #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% #584cde 70–80% 1954 United States Senate election in Kentucky 1954 1960 United States Senate election in Kentucky 1960 November 6, 1956 150x150px John Sherman Cooper.jpg John Sherman Cooper Republican Party (United States) 538,505 53.23% File:Lawrence-Wetherby (cropped).jpg Lawrence Wetherby Democratic Party (United States) 473,140 46.77% U.S. Senator Robert Humphreys Democratic Party (United States) John Sherman Cooper Republican Party (United States) The 1956 United States Senate special election in Kentucky was held on November 6, 1956, to fill the vacant seat left by Alben Barkley. Former Senator John Sherman Cooper was elected to complete the term ending in 1961, defeating Democratic former Governor Lawrence Wetherby. Background thumb|left|150px|Senator Alben Barkley, whose death precipitated the special election. Alben Barkley served as U.S. Senator from Kentucky from 1927 to 1949 and Vice President of the United States from 1949 to 1953. After leaving the vice presidency in 1953, he was elected to the Senate for the term ending in 1961, defeating incumbent John Sherman Cooper in 1954.Cooper himself had won two prior special elections in 1946 (to succeed Happy Chandler, who resigned to become Commissioner of Baseball) and 1952 (to succeed Virgil Chapman, who died). On April 30, 1956, Barkley died of a heart attack during a speech at Washington and Lee University. Governor Happy Chandler appointed Robert Humphreys to fill the vacant seat until a successor could be duly elected to complete the remainder of Barkley's term. Former Senator Cooper, who was serving as Ambassador to India, resigned his post to run for his old seat at the request of President Eisenhower. General election Candidates John Sherman Cooper, U.S. Ambassador to India and former U.S. Senator (1946–1949 and 1952–1955) (Republican) Lawrence Wetherby, former Governor of Kentucky (1950–1955) (Democratic) Results 1956 U.S. Senate election in Kentucky http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1956election.pdf Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 8, 1956 Clerk of the United States House of Representatives U.S. Government Printing Office 1957 Republican Party (United States) John Sherman Cooper 538,505 53.23% Democratic Party (United States) Lawrence Wetherby 473,140 46.77% 1,011,645 100.00% See also 1956 United States Senate elections Notes References 1956 Kentucky United States Senate Kentucky 1956 Kentucky 1956 United States Senate 1956