Still convinced that he was destined to become president, Chandler attended the 1956 Democratic National Convention in the hope of securing the party's presidential nomination. Despite being told by his advisors that the convention would nominate Adlai Stevenson, Chandler continued to seek the nomination but received only 36 1/2 votes. Following Stevenson's nomination, Chandler returned to Kentucky, bitterly disappointed. The death of Senator Alben Barkley and the expiration of Senator Clements' term would make Kentucky elect two senators also in November 1956. Clements was seeking re-election, and the state Democratic committee chose Wetherby as the nominee for Barkley's seat. Chandler refused to use his office to support Stevenson, Clements or Wetherby, and Republicans Dwight Eisenhower, John Sherman Cooper, and Thruston Ballard Morton won the presidential and the senatorial races in the state.