| Election Name: | 1839 Georgia gubernatorial election |
| Flag Year: | 1879 |
| Type: | Presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1837 Georgia gubernatorial election |
| Previous Year: | 1837 |
| Next Election: | 1841 Georgia gubernatorial election |
| Next Year: | 1841 |
| Election Date: | October 7, 1839 |
| Image1: | File:CharlesJamesMcDonald.jpg |
| Nominee1: | Charles McDonald |
| Party1: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Alliance1: | Union Party |
| Percentage1: | 51.42% |
| Country: | Georgia (U.S. state) |
| Popular Vote1: | 34,634 |
| Nominee2: | Charles Dougherty |
| Party2: | Whig Party (United States) |
| Alliance2: | State Rights |
| Popular Vote2: | 32,727 |
| Percentage2: | 48.58% |
| Governor | |
| Before Election: | George Rockingham Gilmer |
| Before Party: | Whig Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Charles McDonald |
| After Party: | Democratic |
The 1839 Georgia gubernatorial election was held on October 7, 1839, to elect the governor of Georgia. The Democratic Union candidate Charles McDonald won the election defeating Whig State Rights Candidate Charles Dougherty, with the election being decided by 1,907 votes.[1] [2]
During this time, Georgian politics were dominated by two local parties, the Union party and the State Rights party. The Union party was the product of the forces of liberal democracy that brought white manhood suffrage and popular elections in the 1800s. The State Rights party, on the other hand, was a political anomaly whose conservative politics and organization were more closely related to those of the late 1800s.[3]
Since the 1836 presidential election the Union and State Rights parties have slowly merged with the Democratic and Whig parties respectively.[3]