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.

Terry McGovern Carpenter was an American politician. Though he changed his party five times, he was elected as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives and later served 22 years in the Nebraska Legislature. He also unsuccessfully ran for the Senate, Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska, and also unsuccessfully and then subsequently successfully for mayor of Scottsbluff, Nebraska. Carpenter was also a successful businessman and founded the village of Terrytown, Nebraska.