The 1872 North Carolina gubernatorial election was held on August 1, 1872. Incumbent Republican Tod Robinson Caldwell, who defeated Thomas Settle and Oliver H. Dockery for the Republican nomination, defeated Conservative Party (Democratic) nominee Augustus Summerfield Merrimon, who defeated James Madison Leach and Daniel Moreau Barringer for the Democratic nomination, with 50.49% of the vote.
This was the last time a Republican candidate won an outright majority of the vote until the 1972 gubernatorial election.