John Potter Stockton (August 2, 1826 – January 22, 1900) was a New Jersey politician who served in the United States Senate as a Democrat.

After studying law, attaining admission to the bar, and practicing in Princeton and Trenton, in 1858 Stockton was appointed as Minister to the Papal States.

In March, 1866 the Senate voted to remove him after his election was contested on the grounds that he had been chosen by a plurality of the New Jersey legislature, rather than a majority.

[3] During his time in Rome, Stockton became involved in resolving the controversy created when the Pontifical Swiss Guard attacked and robbed several American citizens.

[4] Edward Newton Perkins and his party were staying at a hotel Perugia when members of the Pope's army stormed the city on June 20, 1859.

[5] Republican Abraham Lincoln won the 1860 presidential election and began to make new appointments to diplomatic posts after taking office in 1861.

[3] On March 27 the Senate voted 23 to 20 that Stockton's election had been improper on the grounds that he was chosen by a plurality rather than a majority of the state legislature.

[10] According to news accounts of the break-in, the burglars found nothing of value to steal, and contented themselves with upending the home's furniture and dressing the Stockton family's brooms in their old clothes.

[3] During his tenure, Stockton was appointed to a three-member commission that proposed revisions and updates to New Jersey's state court processes and procedures.