1956 South Carolina

[Barnes]

In 1952, Stevenson won South Carolina by 1.5%, in 1956, Ike came in third after Unpledged Electors, with 25%.  What happened that could result in such a massive decrease for Eisenhower in a landslide election?

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

I suspect a good deal of the 1956 Unpledged Elector vote that went for Eisenhower in 1952 was simply an anti-Stevenson vote with nowhere else to go in 1952.  The GOP also finished behind both factions of a split Democratic Party in South Carolina in 1944 and 1948.  There was still a sizable chunk of the electorate back then who would rather vote for anybody other than a Republican if they could help it, even if they couldn't stomach the Democratic candidate.

[RBH]

almost all the Eisenhower votes in 1952 were on a "Nominated by Petition" line and not the Republican line.

[SingingAnalyst]

A similar thing happened in MS, where Ike got 39.6% in '52 and just 24.5% in '56. Stevenson got 60.4% in '52 and 58.2% in '56.

[Prince of Salem]

I guess it had to do with Ike's actions after Brown vs. Board of Education. That's my best guess.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Republicans were absolutely hated in the South until at least the 1960s. Goldwater was really the first one they liked at all. Even a popular leader like Eisenhower wasn't enough to power the Republican vote.

In the Deep South I would agree, but in terms of the South as a whole Ike made tremendous headway in the peripheral and Outer South states. VA, TN, TX, and FL come to mind for instance.

[tpfkaw]

Republicans were absolutely hated in the South until at least the 1960s. Goldwater was really the first one they liked at all. Even a popular leader like Eisenhower wasn't enough to power the Republican vote.

In the Deep South I would agree, but in terms of the South as a whole Ike made tremendous headway in the peripheral and Outer South states. VA, TN, TX, and FL come to mind for instance.

But only in the culturally-northern (or at least, not especially southern) areas of those states.