| Election Name: | 1851 Mississippi gubernatorial election |
| Type: | presidential |
| Previous Election: | 1849 Mississippi gubernatorial election |
| Previous Year: | 1849 |
| Next Election: | 1853 Mississippi gubernatorial election |
| Next Year: | 1853 |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Election Date: | 4 November 1851 |
| Nominee1: | Henry S. Foote |
| Party1: | Union Party (United States, 1850) |
| Popular Vote1: | 29,358 |
| Percentage1: | 50.87% |
| Nominee2: | Jefferson Davis |
| Party2: | Southern Rights Party (US) |
| Popular Vote2: | 28,359 |
| Percentage2: | 49.13% |
| Map Size: | 150px |
| Governor | |
| Before Election: | James Whitfield |
| Before Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Henry S. Foote |
| After Party: | Union Party (United States, 1850) |
The 1851 Mississippi gubernatorial election was held on 4 November 1851 in order to elect the Governor of Mississippi. Democratic US Senator for Mississippi Henry S. Foote, who ran on a Unionist platform, defeated the Southern Rights Party nominee and fellow Democratic US Senator for Mississippi before resigning on 23 September 1851 to run in the gubernatorial election, Jefferson Davis.[1]
Following the controversial Compromise of 1850, Mississippi voters considered this election to be an extension of their approval or disapproval of the compromise. Unionist Democratic Party nominee Henry S. Foote defended the compromise, while Southern Rights Party nominee Jefferson Davis campaigned vigorously against the compromise, suggesting that it put the South at a political disadvantage. The election was held during a time of increasing sectional tension in the United States; Davis voiced his concern over the alleged infringement of southern constitutional rights by the federal government.[2] Although he only started his campaign six weeks before election day, Davis was considered the favorite to win the election.[3] However, on election day, 4 November 1851, Foote won by a margin of 999 votes and would go on to become the 19th Governor of Mississippi.[4] Meanwhile, Davis turned down an offer from outgoing Governor James Whitfield to be reappointed to his seat in the US senate. Davis would go on to serve as the President of the Confederacy during the civil war from 1861 to 1865.