Tom Carlson (born December 9, 1941) is a politician in the U.S. state of

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

. He served in the

Nebraska Legislature The Nebraska Legislature (also called the Unicameral) is the legislative branch, legislature of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The Legislature meets at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln, Nebraska, Lincoln. With 49 members, known as "senators ...

from 2007 to 2015. In 2014, he ran in the Nebraska gubernatorial election, but was defeated by

Pete Ricketts John Peter Ricketts (born August 19, 1964) is an American businessman and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Nebraska since 2023. A member of the Republican Part ...

in the Republican primary.

Personal life

Tom Carlson was born on December 9, 1941, in

Holdrege, Nebraska Holdrege is a city in Phelps County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 5,515 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Phelps County. The Nebraska Prairie Museum is located in Holdrege. History Holdrege was established in 1883 whe ...

. He attended the

University of Northern Colorado The University of Northern Colorado (UNCO or UNC) is a public university in Greeley, Colorado, United States. It was founded in 1889 as the State Normal School of Colorado and has a long history in teacher education. The institution has offi ...

playing football, baseball, and basketball, distinguishing himself as a talented athlete and student, earning a Bachelor of Science in 1963 and a Master of Science in 1964. He received a Ph.D. from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

in 1967. Carlson taught at

Taylor University Taylor University is a Private university, private, Interdenominationalism, interdenominational, evangelical Christian university in Upland, Indiana. Founded in 1846, it is one of the oldest evangelical Christian universities in the United Stat ...

, where he also coached baseball and football prior to returning to

, where he works as a financial advisor. He is married and has three children and 4 grandchildren. Before being elected to the State Legislature, Carlson served on the Holdrege Public School Board for eight years.

State legislature

Carlson was elected in 2006 to represent the 38th Nebraska legislative district with 54 percent of the vote. In 2010, Carlson run unopposed and was elected to a second consecutive term. Due to term limits, he was ineligible to run for a third consecutive term in 2014."Heartwell’s Kuehn running unopposed for Carlson’s seat as state senator".''Kearney Hub''.
2014-05-06. Retrieved 2015-02-09. In the legislature, Carlson served as the chair of the Natural Resources Committee. He also sat on the Banking, Commerce and Insurance Committee and the Committee on Committees.

References

1941 births Living people Republican Party Nebraska state senators People from Holdrege, Nebraska School board members in Nebraska Taylor Trojans baseball coaches Taylor Trojans football coaches Taylor University faculty University of Iowa alumni University of Northern Colorado alumni 21st-century members of the Nebraska Legislature {{nebraska-politician-stub