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

In 2014, he ran in the Nebraska gubernatorial election, but was defeated by Pete Ricketts in the Republican primary.

Carlson taught at Taylor University, where he also coached baseball and football prior to returning to Holdrege, Nebraska, where he works as a financial advisor.

Before being elected to the State Legislature, Carlson served on the Holdrege Public School Board for eight years.

Carlson was elected in 2006 to represent the 38th Nebraska legislative district with 54 percent of the vote.