Jesse Speight (September 22, 1795 – May 1, 1847) was a North Carolina and Mississippi politician in the nineteenth century.

Born in Greene County, North Carolina, Speight attended country schools as a child.

He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1828, serving from 1829 to 1837, not being a candidate for renomination in 1836.

[1] He was elected a Democrat to the United States Senate in 1844, serving from 1845 until his death, where he was chairman of the Committee on Engrossed Bills and Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate.

His replacement as Senator was Jefferson Davis, the future President of the Confederate States of America.