James McGowan (1841 – 7 May 1912) was a New Zealand politician of the Liberal Party.

The by-election was caused after the resignation of Liberal Party MP Alfred Cadman.

The Liberals selected the incumbent Mayor of Thames, James McGowan as their candidate for Cadman's seat.

After a large public gathering, it was decided not to run another candidate against McGowan in light of a general election being only months away, resulting in McGowan being elected unopposed.

[5] He resigned on 6 January 1909[6] so that he could be appointed to the Legislative Council on that same day, where he served until his death.