Estes Kefauver sought the Democratic presidential nomination, as he had in 1952. Initially, he again won some Democratic Party presidential primaries. In the March 13, 1956
New Hampshire presidential primary, Kefauver defeated Stevenson, his only formidable opponent for the nomination, by a margin of 21,701 to 3,806. A week later, Kefauver defeated Stevenson in the March 20, 1956
Minnesota presidential primary, winning 245,885 votes compared to Stevenson's 186,723 votes. Kefauver was also victorious in the
Wisconsin presidential primary. Stevenson picked up his native
Illinois in a landslide. By April 1956, "it appeared that Kefauver was on his way to a primary sweep matching the spectacular performance in 1952."
Florida primary One of the first televised United States presidential debates was held as an hour long one-on-one debate between the party's top-two contenders, Kefauver and Stevenson. The debate was held in
Miami,
Florida ahead of the state's primary.
Russell Baker of
The New York Times wrote that the two contenders took near-identical stances on most of the issues discussed in the debate.
California primary The June
California primary proved decisive for the nomination, delivering Stevenson a major victory and leading to the suspension of Kefauver's campaign for the nomination. == Polling ==