November 4, 1856
General Election
- Note: This was the first California election in which Republican appeared on the ballot. Republican candidates won a total of two State Senate seats and eleven Assembly seats.
| President | |||
| James Buchanan | Democratic | 48.4% | Win |
| Millard Fillmore | Know Nothing | 32.7% | Loss |
| John C. Fremont | Republican | 18.9% | Loss |
| Clerk of the Supreme Court | |||
| Cornelius Cole | Republican | 19.7% | Loss |
| Charles S. Fairfax | Democratic | 48.4% | Win |
| John Skinker | Know Nothing | 32% | Loss |
| Superintendent of Public Instruction | |||
| J. M. Buffington | Republican | 19.4% | Loss |
| H. P. James | Know Nothing | 33.5% | Loss |
| Andrew J. Moulder | Democratic | 47.2% | Win |
| CD-AL | |||
| A. B. Dibble | Know Nothing | 20.7% | Loss |
| Joseph C. McKibbin | Democratic | 3% | Loss |
| Ira P. Rankin | Independent | 13% | Loss |
| Charles L. Scott | Democratic | 29.9% | Win |
| Joshua N. Turner | Republican | 12.5% | Loss |
| Bernard C. Whitman | Independent | 21% | Loss |
| SD-02 | |||
| Pablo De La Guerra | Democratic | Win | |
| SD-04 | |||
| Samuel B. Bell | Republican | Win | |
| SD-05 | |||
| Eugene L. Sullivan | Republican | Win | |
| SD-06 | |||
| Samuel A. Merritt | Democratic | Win | |
| SD-07 | |||
| James W. Mandeville | Democratic | Win | |
| SD-08 | |||
| Aaron R. Melony | Democratic | Win | |
| SD-09 | |||
| William I. Ferguson | Democratic | Win | |
| Josiah Johnson | Democratic | Win | |
| SD-11 | |||
| Alfred W. Taliaferro | Democratic | Win | |
| SD-13 | |||
| Samuel H. Dosh | Democratic | Win | |
| SD-14 | |||
| John B. McGee | Democratic | Win | |
| SD-15 | |||
| Jesse O. Goodwin | Know Nothing | Win | |
| Richard S. Mesick | Know Nothing | Win | |
| SD-16 | |||
| Samuel H. Chase | Democratic | Win | |
| SD-17 | |||
| Joseph Walkup | Democratic | Win | |
| SD-18 | |||
| G. J. Carpenter | Democratic | Win | |
| Henry M. Fiske | Know Nothing | Win | |
| Samuel M. Johnson | Democratic | Win | |
| SD-19 | |||
| William B. Norman | Democratic | Win | |
| SD-20 | |||
| William T. Ferguson | Know Nothing | Win | |
| AD-01 | |||
| J. Lancaster Brent | Democratic | Win | |
| Jefferson Hunt | Democratic | Win | |
| Edward Hunter | Democratic | Win | |
| Jeptha J. Kendrick | Democratic | Win | |
| AD-02 | |||
| Jose M. Covarrubias | Democratic | Win | |
| William J. Graves | Democratic | Win | |
| AD-03 | |||
| Estevan Castro | Know Nothing | Win | |
| Benjamin H. Miles | Democratic | Win | |
| AD-04 | |||
| James B. LaRue | Democratic | Win | |
| Noah Palmer | Republican | Win | |
| John A. Quimby | Republican | Win | |
| AD-05 | |||
| Maurice C. Blake | Republican | Win | |
| Richard Chenery | Republican | Win | |
| Victor J. Fourgeaud | Republican | Win | |
| George B. Godfrey | Democratic | Win | |
| Richard M. Jessup | Republican | Win | |
| Emanuel Miro | Republican | Win | |
| Rufus Murphy | Republican | Win | |
| Cyrus Palmer | Republican | Win | |
| Timothy G. Phelps | Republican | Win | |
| William W. Shepard | Republican | Win | |
| AD-06 | |||
| William J. Howard | Democratic | Win | |
| Daniel Showalter | Democratic | Win | |
| Orson K. Smith | Know Nothing | Win | |
| AD-07 | |||
| Caleb Gilman | Democratic | Win | |
| William Holden | Democratic | Win | |
| George W. Patrick | Democratic | Win | |
| George H. Rogers | Democratic | Win | |
| John R. Underwood | Democratic | Win | |
| AD-08 | |||
| Thomas M. Aull | Democratic | Win | |
| A. Inman | Democratic | Win | |
| Thomas Jenkins | Democratic | Win | |
| AD-09 | |||
| Amos P. Catlin | Know Nothing | Win | |
| Robert C. Clark | Know Nothing | Win | |
| Leonard W. Ferris | Know Nothing | Win | |
| John H. McKune | Democratic | Win | |
| AD-10 | |||
| Thomas H. Anderson | Democratic | Win | |
| J. S. Curtis | Know Nothing | Win | |
| Andrew M. Stevenson | Know Nothing | Win | |
| AD-11 | |||
| Uriah Edwards | Democratic | Win | |
| James M. Estell | Democratic | Win | |
| Richard Harrison | Democratic | Win | |
| AD-12 | |||
| John C. Burch | Democratic | Win | |
| Caspar S. Ricks | Democratic | Win | |
| Benjamin F. Varney | Democratic | Win | |
| Stephen G. Whipple | Democratic | Win | |
| AD-13 | |||
| Isaac Hare | Democratic | Win | |
| Dudley M. Steele | Democratic | Win | |
| AD-14 | |||
| Richard Irwin | Democratic | Win | |
| James Sharon Long | Democratic | Win | |
| Henry J. Morrison | Democratic | Win | |
| AD-15 | |||
| Herndon Barrett | Democratic | Win | |
| Walter Burns | Democratic | Win | |
| Mortimer Fuller | Democratic | Win | |
| Daniel W. C. Rice | Know Nothing | Win | |
| Gabriel N. Swezy | Democratic | Win | |
| Samuel R. Warrington | Democratic | Win | |
| AD-16 | |||
| Michael Cassin | Democratic | Win | |
| E. M. Davidson | Democratic | Win | |
| Philip Moore | Democratic | Win | |
| Parker H. Pierce | Democratic | Win | |
| William C. Wood | Democratic | Win | |
| AD-17 | |||
| W. W. Caperton | Democratic | Win | |
| James D. O'Neill | Democratic | Win | |
| A. P. K. Safford | Democratic | Win | |
| Samuel B. Wyman | Democratic | Win | |
| AD-18 | |||
| Jonathan Carpenter | Democratic | Win | |
| Gaven D. Hall | Democratic | Win | |
| S. F. Hamm | Democratic | Win | |
| John Hume | Democratic | Win | |
| George McDonald | Democratic | Win | |
| Miles N. Mitchell | Democratic | Win | |
| Charles Orvis | Democratic | Win | |
| Jared Turner | Democratic | Win | |
| AD-19 | |||
| Elwood T. Beatty | Democratic | Win | |
| James Livermore | Democratic | Win | |
| William M. Seawell | Democratic | Win | |
| George L. Shuler | Democratic | Win | |
| Joseph S. Watkins | Democratic | Win | |
| AD-20 | |||
| Benjamin J. Coil | Democratic | Win | |
| Smyth M. Miles | Democratic | Win | |