| Election Name: | 1803 United States gubernatorial elections |
| Country: | United States |
| Flag Year: | 1795 |
| Type: | legislative |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1802 United States gubernatorial elections |
| Previous Year: | 1802 |
| Next Election: | 1804 United States gubernatorial elections |
| Next Year: | 1804 |
| Seats For Election: | 12 state governorships |
| Election Date: | January 11, 1803 – December 19, 1803 |
| 1Blank: | Seats up |
| Party1: | Democratic-Republican Party (United States) |
| Last Election1: | 12 governorships |
| Seats Before1: | 12 |
| Seats After1: | 13 |
| Seat Change1: | 1 |
| Seats1: | 9 |
| 1Data1: | 8 |
| Party2: | Federalist Party (United States) |
| Last Election2: | 4 governorships |
| Seats Before2: | 4 |
| Seats After2: | 4 |
| Seats2: | 4 |
| 1Data2: | 4 |
| Map Size: | 324px |
United States gubernatorial elections were held in 1803, in 12 states.
Seven governors were elected by popular vote and five were elected by state legislatures.
Ohio held its first gubernatorial election on achieving statehood.
| State | Election date | Incumbent | Party | Status | Opposing candidates | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connecticut | 14 April 1803 | Jonathan Trumbull Jr. | Federalist | Re-elected, 14,375 (64.04%) | Ephraim Kirby (Democratic-Republican), 7,848 (34.96%) Scattering 223 (0.99%) [1] [2] | |
| Georgia (election by legislature) | 10 November 1803[3] | John Milledge | Democratic-Republican | Re-elected, 65 votes | Solomon Wood, 6 votes [4] [5] [6] | |
| Maryland (election by legislature) | 14 November 1803 | John Francis Mercer | Democratic-Republican | Retired, Democratic-Republican victory | Robert Bowie (Democratic-Republican), 75 votes Thomas Johnson (Federalist), 5 votes Levin Winder (Federalist), 1 vote [7] [8] [9] | |
| Massachusetts | 4 April 1803 | Caleb Strong | Federalist | Re-elected, 29,199 (67.27%) | Elbridge Gerry (Democratic-Republican), 13,910 (32.05%) Scattering 298 (0.69%) [10] [11] | |
| New Hampshire | 8 March 1803 | John Taylor Gilman | Federalist | Re-elected, 12,263 (57.53%) | John Langdon (Democratic-Republican), 9,011 (42.27%) Scattering 43 (0.20%) [12] [13] [14] [15] | |
| New Jersey (election by legislature) | 27 October 1803 | John Lambert (acting) | Democratic-Republican | Retired, Democratic-Republican victory | Joseph Bloomfield (Democratic-Republican), 33 votes Richard Stockton (Federalist), 17 votes [16] [17] [18] | |
| North Carolina (election by legislature) | 28 November 1803 | James Turner | Democratic-Republican | Re-elected, unknown number of votes | Scattering, 2 votes [19] [20] [21] | |
| Ohio | 11 January 1803[22] | New state | Edward Tiffin (Democratic-Republican), 5,377 (90.43%) Benjamin Ives Gilman (Federalist), 246 (4.14%) Arthur St. Clair (Federalist), 234 (3.93%) Bezaleel Wells (Federalist), 89 (1.50%) Scattering, unknown [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] | |||
| Rhode Island | 20 April 1803[28] | Arthur Fenner | Democratic-Republican/Country | Re-elected. Returns lost. [29] [30] [31] | ||
| Tennessee | 4-5 August 1803 | Archibald Roane | Democratic-Republican | Defeated, 4,923 (42.07%) | John Sevier (Democratic-Republican), 6,780 (57.93%) [32] [33] [34] [35] | |
| Vermont | 6 September 1803[36] | Isaac Tichenor | Federalist | Re-elected, 7,940 (57.98%) | Jonathan Robinson (Democratic-Republican), 5,408 (39.49%) Scattering 346 (2.53%) [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] | |
| Virginia (election by legislature) | 19 December 1803[43] | John Page | Democratic-Republican | Re-elected, unanimously [44] [45] |