Senator Keturah Herron

Keturah Joy Herron, born on March 22, 1980, is an American politician from Kentucky. She is a Democrat and represents District 35 in the Kentucky Senate. Herron made history in 2022 by becoming the first openly LGBTQ+ member of the Kentucky House of Representatives. She is only the second openly LGBTQ+ member of the Kentucky General Assembly, following former state senator Ernesto Scorsone, who came out while in office in 2003. After Scorsone left the legislature in 2008, there was no LGBTQ+ representation in either chamber until Herron.

Herron was named one of USA Today’s Women of the Year in 2022, recognizing her significant impact. She was elected to the Kentucky Senate in 2024 and uses she/they pronouns.

Herron hails from Richmond, Kentucky, where she grew up in a single-parent home with her mother. She graduated from the University of Louisville with a Bachelor’s degree in sports management and from Eastern Kentucky University with a Master’s degree in corrections and juvenile justice.

During her time in the House of Representatives, Herron worked to address issues around gun violence and pushed for the establishment of an Office of Community Safety. She also advocated for restoring voting rights to formerly incarcerated individuals and for pay raises for teachers. In 2022, Herron passed her first bill on the House floor, HR 644, which aimed to establish an office of gun violence prevention. Her campaign in 2022 focused on key issues such as voter rights restoration, criminal justice reform, increasing the minimum wage, education and workforce issues, and child abuse and violence prevention.

Herron is often credited for getting Breonna Taylor’s law passed through the Louisville Metro Council, an ordinance banning “No-Knock” warrants. In just 17 days following the death of Breonna Taylor at the hands of Louisville police, Herron pushed to have Breonna’s Law passed by the Louisville Metro Council. Less than a year later, she formed a bipartisan coalition that successfully passed a statewide prohibition on no-knock warrants via the General Assembly.

Before being elected to office, Herron worked as a policy strategist for the ACLU of Kentucky. She has dedicated her career to working for Kentucky families and youth, managing educational programs for kids in foster care and juvenile justice facilities, and serving as a case manager for justice-impacted families. Herron also took guardianship of her cousin’s two minor sons when her cousin was incarcerated, giving her a deeper understanding of the effects of the criminal justice system on Kentucky families.

In the Kentucky Senate, Herron continues to fight for the issues that matter most to her community. She works to address the epidemic of gun violence by pushing for an Office of Community Safety, fully restore voting rights to formerly incarcerated people, and pass a statewide fairness law. Herron is also committed to delivering investments in public education, including pay raises for teachers and universal pre-K, to help every Kentucky community succeed.