1842 Virginia gubernatorial election

Gubernatorial elections were held in Virginia on February 11–12 and December 15, 1842. The Democratic former member of the Virginia House of Delegates from Rockbridge County James McDowell defeated the Democratic former U.S. representative from Virginia's 9th congressional district William P. Taylor and the Whig commonwealth attorney for Roanoke County Edward Watts.

The previous governor of Virginia Thomas Walker Gilmer resigned on March 20, 1841. John M. Patton, John Rutherfoord, and John Munford Gregory succeeded to office in turn in their capacities as the senior member of the Executive Council and acted as governor until the election of a successor.

The 1841 state elections resulted in split control of the legislature, with a Whig majority in the House of Delegates and a Democratic majority in the Virginia Senate. The powerful Richmond Junto was believed to favor the former speaker of the United States House of Representatives Andrew Stevenson as Gilmer's successor. Allies of the U.S. senator from South Carolina John C. Calhoun suspected Stevenson of using the governorship as a stepping stone to secure the Democratic vice presidential nomination in 1844 and determined to oppose his election. McDowell had the most support of the potential Democratic candidates, having narrowly lost the 1840 Virginia gubernatorial election to Gilmer after eight consecutive ballots.

The election was conducted by the Virginia General Assembly in joint session. During the voting on February 11–12, the Democratic Senate majority repeatedly prevented the election of a governor. After eight consecutive ballots, the Senate adjourned, and the election was postponed indefinitely.

Democrats controlled both chambers of the legislature following the 1842 state elections, which resulted in a landslide defeat for the Whigs. The elections did nothing to increase the influence of the Richmond Junto, which had steadily declined since 1837. Unable to prevent McDowell's nomination by the Democratic legislative caucus, Thomas Ritchie, the leader of the Junto and editor of the Richmond Enquirer, endorsed McDowell in hopes of averting an intra-party split. McDowell easily prevailed in the caucus, an outcome that represented the end of the Junto's leadership of the Virginia Democratic Party.

The newly-elected General Assembly met in joint session on December 15, 1842. McDowell was elected with a majority on the first ballot.