Roy Herron

Roy Herron is an American politician, attorney and author. He is immediate past Chairman of the Tennessee Democratic Party. He was previously the Tennessee State Senator for the 24th district for 16 years and for 10 years before that the State Representative for the 76th District. He was the 2010 Democratic nominee for U.S. Representative for Tennessee's 8th congressional district November 2, 2010.

The senate district encompassed Benton, Decatur, Henry, Henderson, Lake, Obion, Perry, Stewart, and Weakley counties.

Early life, education and career

Roy Herron grew up in Weakley County, Tennessee, where his ancestor was one of the first two settlers in the 1820s. Herron grew up working on his family's farm and became an Eagle Scout.

Roy Herron graduated with highest honors from the University of Tennessee in 1975, and from Vanderbilt University in 1980, with a M.Div. and a J.D. as one of the first two joint law and divinity graduates. In 1975 and 1976 he was a Rotary Scholar in Scotland at the University of St. Andrews. Herron represented the University of Tennessee at Martin, and was the 9th Governor of the Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature, a statewide organization of college students. Before serving as Governor, he was Lieutenant Governor of the organization.^[1]

Herron works as an attorney and a businessman. He previously was adjunct faculty at Vanderbilt University's law and divinity schools and is a former United Methodist minister. He helped found and served as the co-chair of FaithfulDemocrats.com, an online community for Democrats of Christian faith. He also heads the non-profit Ned McWherter Center for Rural Development which he founded with two others.

Tennessee Legislature

Herron was first elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1986 to fill Governor Ned McWherter's seat. He served in the House in the 95th through 99th Tennessee General Assemblies and served in the Senate since the 100th General Assembly. He rose to become floor leader and then chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus. He also chaired the Select Committee on Children and Youth, the Senate General Welfare, Health and Human Resources Committee, and the Joint Tenncare Oversight Committee. He was a member of the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Government Operations Committee, the Joint Committee on Charitable Gaming, and the Joint Select Committee on Education.

Herron did not seek re-election in 2012.^[2] His Senate seat was won by Republican John Stevens.

2010 U.S. Congressional campaign

In April 2009, Herron announced that he would be running for Governor of Tennessee in the Democratic primary,^[3] but in December 2009, he declared as a candidate for Tennessee's 8th congressional district when Congressman John S. Tanner announced his retirement.^[4] Herron quickly became the frontrunner and other strong contenders did not challenge him. He was victorious in the August 2010 primary; his state senate district was virtually coextensive with the western portion of the congressional district.

Herron faced Republican nominee Stephen Fincher, Tea Party candidate Donn Janes, who earlier dropped out of the Republican primary, and Independent Mark J. Rawles.^[5] Despite raising over $2 million, a record amount for a Tennessee Democratic congressional candidate, Herron lost to Fincher in November in the massive Republican wave that swept through Tennessee and the nation.

Herron did not have to give up his state senate seat to run in the congressional race; Tennessee state senators serve staggered four-year terms.

Endorsements

In the congressional race, Herron was endorsed by the state's two largest newspapers, the Memphis Commercial Appeal^[6] and the Nashville Tennessean,^[7] as well as every other endorsing newspaper.

2013-2015 Party Chairmanship

Roy Herron set records in Jackson Day fundraising and spoke out with unprecedented numbers of op-ed essays in major newspapers in the state. He also led the Party to victories in five or their seven targeted races in 2014 despite Republican advantages in numbers of office holders, funding and outside groups weighing in heavily in state races.

Works

• Roy Herron, Things Held Dear: Soul Stories for My Sons, Westminster John Knox Press; 1st edition (July 1999), ISBN 978-0-664-22147-8
• Roy Herron (author), L.H. Cotton Ivy (co-author), Tennessee Political Humor: Some Of These Jokes You Voted For, Univ Tennessee Press (November 29, 2000), ISBN 978-1-57233-102-0
• Roy Herron and Dan Taylor, How Can a Christian Be in Politics?: A Guide Toward Faithful Politics (Vital Questions), Tyndale House Publishers (March 3, 2005), ISBN 978-0-8423-8108-6
• Roy Herron, God and Politics: How Can A Christian Be In Politics?, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. (July 9, 2008), ISBN 978-1-4143-2305-3

References

1. ↑ Archives of the Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature Foundation, Special Collections, Vanderbilt University Library
2. ↑ Cass, Michael (January 27, 2012). "State Sen. Roy Herron won't run for office this year". The Tennesseean. Retrieved January 27, 2012. 
3. ↑ "Sen. Roy Herron to run for Tenn. governor in 2010". 
4. ↑ Kraushaar, Josh; Taylor, Jessica (December 2, 2009). "Blue Dog John Tanner to retire from House". The Politico. Retrieved December 2, 2009. 
5. ↑ "General Election State Candidates" (PDF). Retrieved October 11, 2010. 
6. ↑ "Editorial: Herron ready for Washington". Memphis Commercial Appeal. October 12, 2010. Retrieved October 12, 2010. 
7. ↑ "Herron targets jobs, broadband and infrastructure". Nashville Tennessean. October 11, 2010. Retrieved October 11, 2010. 

External links

• Senator Roy Herron official Tennessee General Assembly site
• Roy Herron for United States Representative official campaign site
• Profile at Project Vote Smart
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
• Works by or about Roy Herron in libraries (WorldCat catalog)