The 1956 South Carolina United States Senate special election was held on November 6, 1956 to select the
U.S. Senator from the state of
South Carolina simultaneously with the
regular Senate election. The election resulted from the resignation of Senator Strom Thurmond on April 4, 1956, who was keeping a campaign pledge he had made in the
1954 election. Thurmond was unopposed in his bid to complete the remaining four years of the term.
Democratic primary
Senator
Strom Thurmond faced no opposition from
South Carolina Democrats and avoided a
primary election. There was a possibility that
GovernorGeorge Bell Timmerman Jr. might enter the race, but Thurmond was held in such high regard by the voters that there would have been no chance of defeating him. With no challenge to the remainder of the term, Thurmond did not conduct a campaign and rejoined his old law firm in
Aiken until he returned to the Senate after the general election.
"Supplemental Report of the Secretary of State to the General Assembly of South Carolina." Reports and Resolutions of South Carolina to the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina. Volume I. Columbia, SC: 1957, pp. 8–9.