ABOVE: Keturah Herron. Photo via Herron’s campaign.
Keturah Herron won the Kentucky special election for House District 42 Feb. 22. With this victory, Herron is now the first out LGBTQ person ever elected to the Kentucky state House of Representatives.
There are currently 13 out LGBTQ elected officials in Kentucky. Herron will be the only out LGBTQ person serving in the state legislature and one of just 25 out LGBTQ Black state legislators anywhere in the U.S.
Herron previously worked for the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, where they worked to pass Breonna’s Law, which bans no-knock warrants in the city of Louisville. Now, she intends to leverage this experience and champion a variety of policies, including advancing voting rights, increasing the minimum wage, enacting criminal justice reform and improving access to education.
Mayor Annise Parker, president and CEO of LGBTQ Victory Fund, issued the following statement in an email:
“This is a momentous night for Kentucky, especially for LGBTQ people and Black people who have lived without equitable representation in the state legislature for far too long. Keturah is a seasoned community organizer and policy expert. She has the experience — and political stamina — to advocate for all Kentuckians and stand up against the deluge of anti-LGBTQ legislation perpetrated by anti-equality lawmakers. Her election is a strong rebuke to this hate.”
Chris Hartman, executive director of the Kentucky LGBTQ group C-FAIR, released the following statement:
“We couldn’t be more excited about tonight’s historic election of Kentucky’s first openly-LGBTQ state representative, Keturah Herron. Representative-elect Herron will fill a nearly 15-year gap in LGBTQ representation in the Kentucky General Assembly, and we need her now more than ever before. With the Kentucky House poised to vote on an anti-trans sports bill in the next several days, Representative-elect Herron will fight fiercely for transgender kids and all LGBTQ Kentuckians in this critical time.”
While Herron is now the first out LGBTQ member of the Kentucky state House, in 2003, Ernesto Scorsone made history as the first out LGBTQ member of the Kentucky state Senate when he came out in a public speech.
