Louisville’s Herron Announces Run For State Senate

Dec 21, 2023 at 3:29 pm
Rep. Keturah Herron.
Rep. Keturah Herron. Kentucky Lantern photo by Sarah Ladd.

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State Rep. Keturah Herron, a Louisville Democrat, filed Tuesday to run for election to the Kentucky Senate in 2024.

Herron will seek the seat of Sen. Denise Harper Angel, another Louisville Democrat who recently announced she will not seek reelection in 2024 after representing Senate District 35 since 2005.

Herron said in a statement about her campaign that she is running for Senate because “our communities have big, urgent challenges that Frankfort needs to address.” The general election is November 2024.

“I’ve spent my career as an effective, results-driven advocate. I worked to pass Breonna’s Law in both Louisville and Frankfort, and have spent more than a decade working with vulnerable youth in our Commonwealth,” Herron said. “I want to take that experience to the senate to push for real solutions to gun violence, full restoration of voting rights for people who have served their time, and investments in public education – including pay raises for teachers and universal pre-K – that our state badly needs. I also want to thank Senator Harper Angel for almost two decades of remarkable public service representing this district, and in particular her passionate support for victims of crime.”

Breonna’s Law is named after Breonna Taylor, a young Black woman from Louisville who died in a police raid in 2020. The Louisville Metro Council adopted an ordinance that bans no-knock search warrants. The General Assembly passed the law in 2021.

Herron is also a youth and justice advocate and formerly a policy strategist for the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky. Herron became the first openly LGBTQ+ person to win election to the state House.

Harper Angel previously said she plans to focus “on my personal life and creating cherished memories with my family” after her term ends.

As of Tuesday afternoon, no other candidates had filed for the seat.