James Anthony Hughes (February 27, 1861 – March 2, 1930) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from the state of West Virginia. Hughes was born near Corunna in the Province of Canada (in what is now Ontario). He immigrated to the United States as a youth, graduating from business school in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1875. He worked as a bank messenger, travelling salesman, and a businessman before being elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1888, serving a two-year term. He was a member of the West Virginia Senate from 1894 to 1898. In 1896, Hughes was appointed postmaster of Huntington, West Virginia. He was a delegate to every Republican National Convention from 1892 to 1924.