1938 Nebraska lieutenant gubernatorial elections

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1938 Nebraska lieutenant gubernatorial regular election
← 1936 November 8, 1938 1940 →
 
Nominee William E. Johnson Terry Carpenter John B. Elliott Jr.
Party Republican Democratic Independent
Popular vote 226,363 215,725 24,872
Percentage 48.5% 46.2% 5.3%
Lieutenant Governor before election

Walter H. Jurgensen
(removed June 26, 1938)
Democratic

Elected Lieutenant Governor

William E. Johnson
Republican

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The 1938 Nebraska lieutenant gubernatorial elections were both held on November 8, 1938. Incumbent Nebraska Lieutenant Governor Walter H. Jurgensen was convicted of a felony in March 1938 and barred from running for a fourth term as lieutenant governor in June, 1938, leaving the 1938 lieutenant gubernatorial race wide open. The vacancy caused by his removal from office brought about two elections for lieutenant governor in 1938: the regular election which always happened biennially and a special election to fill the vacancy.

The regular election, which was held to elect a lieutenant governor for the term from January 5, 1939, to January 9, 1941, featured William E. Johnson, the Republican nominee, defeating the Democratic nominee, former US Representative Terry Carpenter, and independent candidate John B. Elliott Jr.[1]

The special election, which was held to elect a lieutenant governor to finish out the vacant term of Walter H. Jurgensen for its two remaining months from November 8, 1938, to January 5, 1939, featured Nate M. Parsons, the Democratic nominee, defeating Republican nominee Jack S. Kroh.[1]

Regular election[edit]

Democratic primary[edit]

Candidates[edit]

Results[edit]

Democratic primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Terry Carpenter 45,934 32.09
Democratic Edward D. McKim 17,356 12.13
Democratic H. B. Shellenbarger 14,916 10.42
Democratic Phil A. Tomek 12,464 8.71
Democratic William H. O'Gara 11,692 8.17
Democratic Glen E. Carpenter 9,372 6.55
Democratic Henry F. Schepman 7,515 5.25
Democratic Henry Pedersen 7,157 5.00
Democratic George E. Nickles 4,866 3.40
Democratic Oscar L. Osterlund 3,377 2.36
Democratic Asa D. Scott 3,373 2.36
Democratic Martin L. Gable 3,171 2.22
Democratic James Franklin Christie 1,940 1.36

Republican primary[edit]

Candidates[edit]

Results[edit]

Republican primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican William E. Johnson 22,801 20.08
Republican Robert A. Nelson 19,449 17.13
Republican Leo J. Crosby 19,023 16.75
Republican Harry C. Moore 17,182 15.13
Republican C. A. Green 12,462 10.97
Republican Clarence Reckmeyer 11,695 10.30
Republican Arthur B. Walker 10,938 9.63

General election[edit]

In the general election, in addition to Republican nominee William E. Johnson and Democratic nominee Terry Carpenter, John B. Elliott Jr. filed to run as an independent candidate by petition.[9] Elliott was a farmer and farm implement dealer from Alvo, Nebraska, who portrayed himself as a political outsider and nonpolitical candidate.[10][11]

Results[edit]

Nebraska lieutenant gubernatorial election, 1938[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican William E. Johnson 226,363 48.48
Democratic Terry Carpenter 215,725 46.20
Independent John B. Elliott Jr. 24,872 5.33
Total votes 466,960 100.00
Republican gain from Democratic

Special election[edit]

1938 Nebraska lieutenant gubernatorial special election
← 1936 November 8, 1938 1940 →
 
Nominee Nate M. Parsons Jack S. Kroh
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 229,780 142,557
Percentage 61.7% 38.3%
Lieutenant Governor before election

Walter H. Jurgensen
(removed June 26, 1938)
Democratic

Elected Lieutenant Governor

Nate M. Parsons
Democratic

On March 7, 1938, incumbent Nebraska Lieutenant Governor Walter H. Jurgensen was convicted of a felony for embezzling $549 in a stock transaction between a co-defendant and a railroad station agent in September 1934.[12] Jurgensen contested the conviction and sought to be renominated for a fourth term as lieutenant governor, but he was declared ineligible to participate in the primary.[13][14] He was then removed from office by the Nebraska Supreme Court on June 25, 1938, leaving the lieutenant governor's office vacant.[12] The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that the lieutenant governor's office became vacant on March 7 when he had been convicted of a felony since Article III, Section 23, of the Nebraska State Constitution provided at the time that "All offices created by this constitution shall become vacant by... conviction of a felony."[15][16]

Since the lieutenant governor's office was now vacant, there was mixed opinion on how to handle this vacancy. The office of Nebraska lieutenant governor had not been vacant since Nebraska Lieutenant Governor Melville R. Hopewell died while in office on May 2, 1911.[17] At the time, the president pro tempore of the Nebraska State Senate, John H. Morehead, was considered the "Acting Lieutenant Governor" based on Article V, Section 18, of the Nebraska Constitution which provided that "If there be no lieutenant governor..., the president [pro tempore] of the senate shall act as governor until the vacancy is filled...."[18][19]

Based on this precedent, some believed that the Speaker of the Nebraska Legislature should assume the office of the lieutenant governor.[20] Then Nebraska Attorney General Richard C. Hunter issued an opinion based on this precedent that then Speaker of the Nebraska Legislature Charles J. Warner (who was also a candidate for governor) could perform the duties of the lieutenant governor without assuming the office.[21] Others believed that then Nebraska Governor Robert L. Cochran had the authority to appoint a lieutenant governor to fill the vacancy.[21] When asked about Jurgensen's removal from office, Cochran said that he didn't think it was necessary to appoint a lieutenant governor at that time because "There is no necessity for haste. If the legislature were in session... it would be a different matter" since the Nebraska lieutenant governor presides over sessions of the legislature.[15]

Others believed that, under certain Nebraska laws, a special election needed to be held to fill the vacancy. Among these was Nate M. Parsons, a pharmacist from Lincoln, Nebraska, who filed to run for the vacant term of lieutenant governor very shortly before the deadline for filing to run in the primary elections.[22] Parsons argued, among other things, that Article IV, Section 18, of the Nebraska Constitution, which provided that "If there be no lieutenant governor... the president of the senate shall act as governor until the vacancy is filled,"[23] and Article V, Section 21, which provided that "Vacancies in ...elective offices shall be filled by election,"[24] meant that if the governor did not appoint someone to the office of lieutenant governor, then it was to be filled by special election. Nebraska Secretary of State Harry Swanson, who received Parsons' filing, asked Nebraska Attorney General Hunter to issue an opinion on the matter.[22]

Nebraska Attorney General Richard Hunter issued his opinion declaring that Parsons was correct. The opinion stated that, under Nebraska law, since there was "no special constitutional provision for filling of a vacancy in the office of Lieutenant Governor" and "since the vacancy occurred more than thirty days prior to the November election," the Nebraska Secretary of State should therefore "accept the filing made [by Parsons]."[25] The Attorney General also ordered that "In making up the ballot at the primary and general elections respectively, separate places should be provided for voting for Lieutenant Governor for the full term and for Lieutenant Governor for the unexpired term."[25] In 1938, the Nebraska primary elections were held on August 9.[1]

Because it was uncertain how a vacancy in the office of lieutenant governor was to be handled and whether or not there would even be a special election, no filings were made to run in the special election until Parsons made his last-minute filing before the deadline. Thus, he was the only candidate of any party to run in the primaries for the special election for lieutenant governor.[22][1]

Democratic primary[edit]

Candidates[edit]

Nate M. Parsons, a pharmacist from Lincoln, Nebraska, who had been active in Democratic party politics in the past, ran unopposed since he was the only person to file before the deadline.[26]

Results[edit]

Democratic primary results[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Nate M. Parsons 96,321 100.0

Republican primary[edit]

Because of the uncertainty over the handling of the vacancy of lieutenant governor, no Republican primary was held for the lieutenant gubernatorial special election. However, at the Republican state convention, which took place after the primaries, Jack S. Kroh was nominated to run for the vacant term of lieutenant governor.[27][28] Because of this, Kroh had to run "by petition" and thus was not listed as a "Republican" on the ballot.[1][27] Jack S. Kroh, from Ogallala, Nebraska, was the owner and publisher of the Keith County News.[29] He was a former president of the Nebraska Press Association and a former member of the Nebraska State Senate from 1923 to 1924.[30]

General election[edit]

Results[edit]

Nebraska lieutenant gubernatorial special election, 1938[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Nate M. Parsons 229,780 61.71
Republican Jack S. Kroh 142,557 38.29
Total votes 372,337 100.00
Democratic hold

Aftermath[edit]

After winning the special election for lieutenant governor to fill the vacancy, Nate M. Parsons took office immediately after he had qualified. He was sworn into office on November 14, 1938, and served until January 5, 1939.[31] Since the legislative session began on January 3, 1939, but Lieutenant Governor-elect William E. Johnson did not take office until January 5, Parsons presided over the first two days of the legislative session. The Nebraska Legislature later officially voted to thank him "for the impartial manner in which he opened and presided over the organization of the Fifty-third Session of the Nebraska Legislature."[32]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harry R. Swanson. "Official Report of the Nebraska State Canvassing Board Primary Election August 9, 1938, General Election November 8, 1938" (PDF). Retrieved May 24, 2023.
  2. ^ "Carpenter Files For State Berth". The Falls City Journal. June 18, 1938. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g State of Nebraska, 2020-2021 Nebraska Blue Book (PDF), pp. 317–378
  4. ^ a b "Phil Tomek Files". The Falls City Journal. June 18, 1938. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d "Finance Expert Files for Jurgensen Post". Omaha World-Herald. June 28, 1938. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
  6. ^ "Local Mention". Burt County Herald. February 27, 1936. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  7. ^ "Johnson in Race". The Falls City Journal. June 18, 1938. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
  8. ^ "State Primary Candidates". Beatrice Daily Sun. June 9, 1946. Dr. A. B. Walker, Republican, 68, Lincoln; physician.
  9. ^ "Alvo Man To Run For Lieutenant Governor". Lincoln Journal Star. October 6, 1938. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
  10. ^ "Alvo Man Enters Race for Office". Kearney Daily Hub. October 6, 1938. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
  11. ^ "John B. Elliott, Jr. For Lt. Governor". The Hastings Daily Tribune. November 5, 1938. Retrieved May 25, 2023. Business man and farmer—not a political politician.
  12. ^ a b "Lieut. Governor Out: Nebraska Court Removes Official In Embezzling Case". The New York Times. June 26, 1938. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
  13. ^ "Time Capsule". Omaha World-Herald. June 27, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
  14. ^ "News, Views, and Gossip". The Tryon Graphic. June 30, 1938. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  15. ^ a b "Nebraska Loses Its Lieutenant Governor". Pawnee Republican. June 30, 1938. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  16. ^ State of Nebraska, 1938 Nebraska Blue Book (PDF), p. 138
  17. ^ Nancy Capace (January 1, 1999). Encyclopedia of Nebraska. Somerset Publishers, Inc. p. 106. ISBN 9780403098347. Due to his Senate post as President Pro Tempore, he stepped in as Lieutenant Governor of the State in May 1911, when the incumbent, M.R. Hopewell, died while in office.
  18. ^ 1915 Nebraska Blue Book (PDF), p. 168
  19. ^ "Gov. John Henry Morehead", National Governors Association, As senate president, Morehead succeeded to the office of lieutenant governor, where he served from 1911 to 1912.
  20. ^ "Parsons Raises a Number Questions". The Ravenna News. July 15, 1938. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  21. ^ a b "Nebr. May Be Without a Lieutenant Gov". Custer County Chief. June 30, 1938. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  22. ^ a b c "Surprises Are Recorded Late in Filing Dash". Norfolk Daily News. July 1, 1938. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  23. ^ State of Nebraska, 1938 Nebraska Blue Book (PDF), p. 142
  24. ^ State of Nebraska, 1938 Nebraska Blue Book (PDF), p. 148
  25. ^ a b "Attorney General Opinions: Elections Public Officers: Filling Vacancy in Office of Lieutenant Governor for Unexpired Term". Nebraska Legal News. July 16, 1938. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  26. ^ "Books Close On Filings; Total Is 329". The Lincoln Star. July 1, 1938. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  27. ^ a b "General Election Next Tuesday, November 8; Good Sized Vote Likely". The Arnold Sentinel. November 3, 1938. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  28. ^ "Nominated". Grand Island Daily Independent. October 6, 1938. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  29. ^ "Kroh of Ogallala Selected to Fill Vacancy on Ballot". The Tribune-Sentinel. September 15, 1938. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  30. ^ "J. S. (Jack) Kroh". Chadron Record. October 28, 1938. p. 7. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
  31. ^ "Nate M. Parsons Qualifies, Post, Lieut. Governor". The North Platte Telegraph. November 14, 1938. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  32. ^ Legislative Journal of the State of Nebraska, Fifty-Third Session, Convened January 3, 1939; Adjourned June 7, 1939, Lincoln, Nebraska
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