James Stuart (c. 1681 – 3 April 1743) was a Scottish officer in the British Army and a politician. Stuart was the oldest son of Alexander Stuart of Torrance and his wife Isabel, daughter of Sir Patrick Nisbet, 1st Baronet, of Edinburgh. Patrick Stuart MP was his younger brother. He was returned by Argyll as Member of Parliament (MP) for Ayr Burghs from 1734 to 1741. Stuart succeeded to his father's estates in 1733, and died unmarried on 3 April 1743.