| Election Name: | 1854 Vermont gubernatorial election |
| Country: | Vermont |
| Flag Year: | 1837 |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1853 Vermont gubernatorial election |
| Previous Year: | 1853 |
| Next Election: | 1855 Vermont gubernatorial election |
| Next Year: | 1855 |
| Party1: | Whig Party (United States) |
| Nominee1: | Stephen Royce |
| Popular Vote1: | 27,926 |
| Percentage1: | 62.6% |
| Party2: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Nominee2: | Merritt Clark |
| Popular Vote2: | 15,084 |
| Percentage2: | 33.8% |
| Map Size: | 220px |
| Governor | |
| Before Election: | John S. Robinson |
| Before Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Stephen Royce |
| After Party: | Whig Party (United States) |
The 1854 Vermont gubernatorial election for governor of Vermont took place on September 5.[1] The Whig nominee was Stephen Royce, former Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court.[2] The Democratic nominee was Merritt Clark,[3] and Lawrence Brainerd ran as the nominee of the Free Soil Party[4] even as he was one of the organizers of the new anti-slavery Republican Party[5] and appeared as a Whig candidate for the Vermont Senate on the ballot in Franklin County.[6] Whig William C. Kittredge was nominated for governor against his wishes by advocates of the Temperance movement[7] and Democrat Horatio Needham also attracted the support of some Free Soil advocates.[4]
With the Whig Party splintering nationally over the slavery issue, the Republican Party was formed as the main abolitionist party, and Royce was endorsed by the new organization.[8] In the September voting, Free Soil advocates, Republicans, and anti-slavery Whigs largely backed Royce, who was easily elected with 62.6 percent to 33.9 for Clark and 1.4 for Brainerd.[9] Kittredge, Needham, William R. Shafter, and other write-in candidates all received less than one percent each.[9] Royce took the oath of office and began a one-year term on October 12.[10]