1851 Connecticut gubernatorial election

The 1851 Connecticut gubernatorial election was held on April 7, 1851. It was a rematch of the 1850 Connecticut gubernatorial election. Incumbent governor and Democratic Party nominee Thomas H. Seymour defeated former state legislator and Whig nominee Lafayette S. Foster with 48.94% of the vote.

Seymour won a plurality of the vote, but he did not receive a majority. As a result, the Connecticut General Assembly elected the governor, per the state constitution. The Whig Party had a majority in the Connecticut State house, but they were divided over their choice. Seymour won the vote over Foster by a mere one-vote margin, 122 to 121, in the General Assembly, and became the governor.

Candidates
Major party candidates


 * Thomas H. Seymour, Democratic
 * Lafayette S. Foster, Whig

Minor party candidates


 * John Boyd, Free Soil