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.
Major party candidates
Minor party candidates