Walter J. Kohler Jr. Republican Vernon Wallace Thomson Republican The 1956 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1956.

Republican nominee Vernon W. Thomson defeated Democratic nominee William Proxmire with 51.89% of the vote.

Proxmire was defeated for the third consecutive gubernatorial election; he would subsequently win a special election for the United States Senate the following year after the death of Joseph McCarthy.

Both major party candidates were unopposed in their respective primaries.

After this election, Taylor County would not vote Republican again until 1978.