James McDonald was a nationalist politician in Northern Ireland.
At the 1973 Northern Ireland local elections, he won a seat on Craigavon Borough Council in the "A" area as an independent. He subsequently joined the Social Democratic and Labour Party, holding his seat in 1977 and 1981.[1] In 1979/80, he served as Deputy Mayor of Craigavon. He was elected in the 1982 Northern Ireland Assembly election, in South Antrim, overtaking two party colleagues on transfers.[2] He finally stood in the new seat of Upper Bann at the 1983 general election, taking second place, with 17.8% of the vote.[3]