The 1956 Iowa State Senate elections took place as part of the biennial 1956 United States elections. Iowa voters elected state senators in 29 of the state senate's 50 districts. State senators serve four-year terms in the Iowa State Senate.
A statewide map of the 50 state Senate districts in the year 1956 is provided by the Iowa General Assembly here.
The primary election on June 4, 1956, determined which candidates appeared on the November 6, 1956 general election ballot.
Following the previous election, Republicans had control of the Iowa state Senate with 44 seats to Democrats' 6 seats.
To claim control of the chamber from Republicans, the Democrats needed to net 20 Senate seats.
Republicans maintained control of the Iowa State Senate following the 1956 general election with the balance of power shifting to Republicans holding 40 seats and Democrats having 10 seats (a net gain of 4 seats for Democrats).
Summary of Results Note: The 21 holdover Senators not up for re-election are not listed on this table.
State Senate DistrictIncumbent PartyElected Senator Party 2nd Charles W. Nelson Rep Norval Evans Rep 3rd Ted D. Clark Rep Gene L. Hoffman Dem 4th William C. Stuart Rep William C. Stuart Rep 5th Xavier Thomas Prentis Rep Xavier Thomas Prentis Rep 6th Thomas C. Larson Rep Francis Austin Turner Rep 8th Henry W. Washburn Rep William H. Harbor Rep 11th George Donald Bellman Rep J. Louis Fisher Rep 14th Charles Emory Stewart Rep Carroll F. McCurdy Dem 15th Leon N. Miller Dem Carroll Price Rep 16th Lorin B. Sayre Rep Raymond R. Gillespie Dem 17th Glenn Edwin Whitehead Rep Gerald William Prince Rep 19th De Vere Watson Rep Jim O. Henry Rep 23rd David Earl Elijah Rep David Earl Elijah Rep 24th Jans T. "J. T." Dykhouse Rep Jans T. "J. T." Dykhouse Rep 25th Daniel Clifford "D. C." Nolan Rep Daniel Clifford "D. C." Nolan Rep 26th Frank C. Byers Rep Frank C. Byers Rep 27th Henry Emil Heideman Rep C. Joseph Coleman Dem 28th Warren Eldon Walter Rep Howard C. Buck Rep 31st Janious G. Lucas Rep Carl H. Ringgenberg Rep 32nd Charles S. Van Eaton Rep Jack Richard Miller Rep 33rd Donald Alexander Risk Rep Irving D. Long Rep 36th Art J. Johnson Rep John J. O'Connor Dem 39th J. Kendall Lynes Rep J. Kendall Lynes Rep 40th George Lindsey Scott Rep George Lindsey Scott Rep 41st Jacob Grimstead Rep Jacob Grimstead Rep 43rd Herman M. Knudson Rep William H. Tate Rep 46th Laurence M. Boothby Rep Laurence M. Boothby Rep 47th Harry E. Watson Rep Harry E. Watson Rep 49th Duane E. Dewel Rep Duane E. Dewel Rep
Source:
Detailed Results NOTE: The 21 districts that did not hold elections in 1956 are not listed here. District 2 • District 3 • District 4 • District 5 • District 6 • District 8 • District 11 • District 14 • District 15 • District 16 • District 17 • District 19 • District 23 • District 24 • District 25 • District 26 • District 27 • District 28 • District 31 • District 32 • District 33 • District 36 • District 39 • District 40 • District 41 • District 43 • District 46 • District 47 • District 49__NOTOC__ Note: The Iowa Secretary of State's website does not document any competitive intra-party primaries for state Senate races in 1956.
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 8
District 11
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
District 19
District 23
District 24
District 25
District 26
District 27
District 28
District 31
District 32
District 33
District 36
District 39
District 40
District 41
District 43
District 46
District 47
District 49
See also United States elections, 1956 United States House of Representatives elections in Iowa, 1956 Elections in Iowa
References