James Colgate Cleveland (June 13, 1920 – December 3, 1995) was an American politician in the U.S. state of New Hampshire.

During World War II, he served overseas in the Pacific in the 40th Infantry Division and was discharged as a captain of Field Artillery in February 1946.

He was an organizer and director of New London Trust Company, and served as a member of the New Hampshire State Senate from 1950 to 1962.

In 1962 Cleveland ran as a Republican candidate for the office of United States Representative for 2nd district.

While he stated that he only ran because he didn't think there were good choices for the position, he won the respect of the constituents of his district.

By using a bi-annual questionnaire sent to the people in his district, he tried to represent their desires even if it were not his own personal opinion of an issue.