The young, dynamic Senator from Massachusetts, John F. Kennedy, political heir to the famous Kennedy name, manages to create some excitement in the country for his candidacy. His appealing looks, personality, and speaking abilities appeal to many voters, particularly younger ones, and he manages to make inroads in the campaign where Stevenson fails to do so.
Kennedy adds his home base of lower New England, Massachusetts, Connetcicut, and Rhode Island to the Democratic totals, as well as pulling in Kentucky, Minnesota, home state of running mate Harold Stassen, Tennessee, and normally Democratic West Virginia, in addition to the states won by Stevenson.
Kennedy loses Missouri, which was won narrowly by Stevenson.
Harold Stassen on the ticket attracts some Republican and crossover votes, however, at the same time, some Democrats are disappointed that the Vice Presidential nomination did not go to a candidate with roots in the Democratic Party.
In the end, Kennedy, though young, dynamic, and charasmatic, was nonetheless running against an unusually popular President, Dwight Eisenhower, who was still in 1956 much admired and respected by the public.
The election still turns into a lndslide Eisenhower win, though slightly smaller than his win against Stevenson.
Final numbers
Eisenhower/Nixon 402
Kennedy/Stassen 129
